By Rose Bialk
LEWIS & CLARK’S athletics Department is home to a vibrant and thriving student-athlete community, and houses 21 NCAA Division III varsity sports teams. Many athletes at LC work towards both personal and team goals while staying afloat in such a competitive academic environment. LC offers students resources for keeping up with their mental health, but athletes sometimes require specialized assistance. LC has some offerings, though students are rarely made aware of them.
Declan Cloutier ’26 has had trouble managing such a packed schedule while participating in soccer.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve struggled with mental health problems while at LC,” Cloutier said. “There have been times I have been overwhelmed with my workload and with soccer, and I think those have been tougher times — I wouldn’t say they were mental health problems, just a busy period I had to work through.”
In addition to doing their sport, many athletes have to find time to work jobs for supplemental income or participate in extracurriculars, which adds to their overall stress.
In 2022, the NCAA conducted a well-being survey, sampling over 9,800 student-athletes across the association, and found that — especially during and soon after the pandemic — athletes were struggling with hopelessness and comfortability with seeking help.
Evan Azinger ’28 has experienced highs and lows since arriving on campus, however, he does not attribute them to his athletic schedule.
“I’ve struggled with mental health for sure since I’ve been here,” Azinger said. “Due to (Bacchus) being a club and not as intense, I would say much of it doesn’t have to do with that. I look forward to the practices, and I’ve skipped a few due to mental health.”
We have a flourishing sports medicine program, with trained professionals onsite daily to help the athletes stay up to code physically — but not all students are aware of the mental health resources the school provides for athletes.
Recently formed, LC now has a Mental-Health Validation Program (MVP) which aims to bring mental health into conversation among athletes and connect student-athletes to peer support groups, counselors, educational workshops and other mental health resources.
“Lewis & Clark’s Department of Athletics aims to break the stigma surrounding mental health for student-athletes by fostering a culture of holistic wellness through our Mental-Health Validation Program,” reads the LC Athletics website.
The program is still in development, but so far, MVP has helped LC’s athletic community by offering specialized training for coaches and staff, as well as providing an on-campus mental health professional. Christabel Léonce, whose office is conveniently located in the Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion, works with student-athletes, coaches and sports medicine staff to ensure that athletes are supported physically, mentally and emotionally. She holds counseling drop in hours every other Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 3 p.m., and is also available by appointment through the Counseling Center’s webpage.
Our lacrosse and swim teams have also worked alongside Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit geared toward suicide prevention and mental health support within athletic communities. On Nov. 10, ambassadors from the organization visited LC to provide information.
Dahlia Linkow ’27 is a part of the effort to connect LC with Morgan’s Message. Since the beginning of the process, the lacrosse and swim teams have had dedication games and meets in honor of athletes’ mental health, where the athletes would hand out pamphlets, give programs, or simply bring awareness to Morgan herself — the athlete to whom the program is dedicated.
“The main goal is to eliminate the stigma around mental health in athletics. We have programs (Morgan’s Message) gives to us to share out with the student body, and athletes and coaches,” Linkow said. “It is really to normalize the conversation around mental health, as it can be very stigmatized in a negative way in athletics.”
Linkow has experienced mental health challenges of her own, which is why Morgan’s Message appealed to her.
“I personally have struggled with mental health, and I saw the effects it had on my academic and athletic life, as well as how I interacted with people in general. There was a lack of support when I was really going through a lot of it. I have seen teammates go through it, as well as friends. I felt like I couldn’t speak up, so I’d rather be that safe person, be that voice for other people to reach out to,” she said.
There are a number of specialized mental health resources on campus available for student-athletes. Do not hesitate to take advantage of the programs in place to support the well-being of the athletics community at LC.
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