Kayleigh Colleary grew up as many kids in America, playing travel sports, and for Colleary, this primarily meant basketball at a young age. But while most kids look back fondly at an innocent time when playing with your friends meant just as much, if not more, than the results on the scoreboard, Colleary has different recollections.
"I was seven years old, and I had really bad anxiety," Colleary remembers. "It was debilitating, and really challenging, because it would stop me from doing the things I love to do. On the car rides to tournaments, I would work myself into such a bad panic attacks that I would be dry heaving, hyperventilating, and throwing up to where even in the middle of a game, I would run to the sideline and be doing the same things. I would think to myself, how do I love this so much, and I'm ruining this fun for myself."
It was in eighth grade when Colleary would find herself introduced to the game of lacrosse and set her on the trajectory that would eventually put her at Rider. Her eighth-grade basketball coach was also the high school varsity lacrosse coach and encouraged Colleary to try lacrosse, and in that first season, Colleary was in her own words, "awful", but was still a member of the high-school varsity team as an athletic sub while still in the eighth grade and quickly fell in love with the game.
After realizing that lacrosse was what Colleary wanted to pursue in college, things began to change. She joined a club team out of Rochester and her game quickly grew to the next level.
"A lot of the concepts with basketball and lacrosse overlap. Spacing, movement, and defense are very similar, so I was able to pick it up quick, but Rochester is where my biggest 'growth-spurt' happened. Playing with girls who had been playing their whole lives accelerated my learning curve."
It was also at that time that she was was able to understand the mental side of the game, and put her on the path that eventually guided her to Lawrenceville. Continuing to improve both on and off the field, while developing the skills off the field to handle the pressures of playing sports at the highest collegiate level.
"My initial thoughts when those moments of panic arrived were, 'How do I get out of this?' I needed to escape because I didn't think that I'd be able to make it through, but with the help of therapy and I owe a lot to the mental health practitioners. I started to realize that I've done this 12 times, and not once died, then I've done this 30 times, and sometimes even done it really well. So I learned that even when those thoughts come up, I can't let my negative thoughts dictate what I do."
Colleary began her collegiate career at Butler, redshirting her freshman year before joining the starting lineup for the Bulldogs in 2023 and leading the team in assists. In and out of the starting lineup in 2024, Colleary continued to focus on her work in the classroom and graduated in just three years with her degree in Psychology.
"I was in the portal, and didn't have a lot of time to make a decision on what I was going to do next. I knew I wanted to get in to mental health counseling, and I found the opportunity to continue to play Division I lacrosse and give me the opportunity to be in a masters program at Rider. Being at a newly formed program let me define how I play, and not let the negative mental challenges get in the way."
Colleary has been a fixture in the lineup during her two seasons with the Broncs, playing in every contest last season, and starting every game for the Broncs so far this year, leading the 2026 squad in assists and points.
It hasn't always been easy for Colleary, who has now played for five coaches in five seasons at the collegiate level, but through the support of athletic trainers like Claire Moorman at Butler, and Haylie McNerny at Rider, Colleary has seen a path to carry forward into a professional career helping others deal with the same issues that she overcame. In 2020, Rider became one of the first athletic departments in the country to be certified in Mental Health First Aid, with every athletic trainer, coach, and administrator undergoing Mental Health First Aid training.
"Often in sports, mental health is a thing that is pushed under the rug. At Rider, there is a nationally accredited master's program, athletic trainers that value mental health, and embedded therapists that are offered for all athletes. These are all part of the environment that I want to help build in the future, so it was easy to decide to be a part of it."
Despite the difficulties of the season on the field, Colleary has been able to reflect on her journey and learn from her experiences when helping the next generation of athletes overcome some of the same issues she faced to get to where she is today.
"Joe Burrow recently said, 'How could I be upset about playing a child's game for a living?' and it really resonated with me. The biggest thing for me this season is being grateful and having fun. I think back to the eighth grade, and in another life I could've faded away from sports, but I had the support around me to help me push through, and I've been able to zoom out this year and look at the bigger picture with this season. I am proud of the work that I put in and where I am, and as long as I'm having fun, I can just appreciate the moment."
📸: Carl Rizzo/Matthew Richman
Established in 2020, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States and its territories. The 988 Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining local care and resources with national standards and best practices.