2027 TICKET INTEREST LIST
2027 TICKET INTEREST LIST

Mental Toughness aiming to bring mental health awareness to TBT 2021

By: Joey Wright

Plenty of teams play with something in mind. All teams, in fact, play with wins, losses, standings and things of the like at the front of their minds. 

Rarer is the team that plays with a cause in mind. And even more seldom does one see a team like Mental Toughness, which aims to bring awareness to improving mental health via the TBT platform. The inspiration that drives Mental Toughness is evident in even a brief conversation with the people that comprise it. 

“We want to win the whole thing, don’t get me wrong, but it’s getting into the tournament and spreading mental health awareness,” said team co-founder Sean McGee. “If we go in, get accepted and win a game and that gives one person hope … I feel like we did something positive.” 

Set to attempt to make its first appearance in the TBT, the team is co-managed by McGee and Marist College classmate Zach Kelley and is partnered with the JCK Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness and provide resources to help people deal with topics related to mental health. 

The JCK Foundation is seemingly a natural partner for the first-year team. Founded by John Tessitore in honor of close friend John Kelly – for whom the foundation is named – the organization works inside communities and schools to improve mental health and resilience in youth populations by making mental health an approachable topic. 

Mental Toughness was born after Zach Kelley sent a DM to a friend, asking for mental health organizations who would be interested in partnering with him and McGee to raise awareness using the TBT platform. The friend returned to the JCK Foundation and an instant connection was made during a call between Kelley, McGee and Tessitore. 

Much of the foundation’s framework comes from Tessitore’s personal experiences. 

Before being officially diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder in seventh grade, Tessitore struggled with intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. After his diagnosis, he quickly realized that he wasn’t alone in his plight through a conversation with Kelly, a close friend of his older brother Paul. 

“[John was] always a guy that I looked up to and that I admired so deeply,” said Tessitore. “He’s just like, the greatest human on Earth, you know? And I remember he came up to me and said … I’m here to let you know that I have OCD too and let you know that you’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna get through this … once I found that out, right, that stigma started to melt, it made me realize, okay, I can get through this, there are ways for me to fight this.” 

From there, Kelly served as an outlet for Tessitore as he began to manage his OCD. With Kelly and a supportive family on his side, things began to improve for Tessitore upon reaching high school. Unity remains a theme that shines through in the JCK Foundation’s message to this day.

“A big part of our foundation is knocking down the stigma of mental health and letting people know that they aren’t alone in this battle. We believe that connection and community can truly help prevent mental illness. ” said Tessitore. “Making mental health care more accessible and more accepted, we really want to help students not be ashamed. We want to drop the shame associated with mental illness. And replace that shame with empowerment and self acceptance. That’s a big thing.” 

In addition to a strong partnership with the foundation, Mental Toughness boasts a strong roster of young talent that is equally passionate about promoting mental health as they are ready to compete. 

Headlining the roster are Jehyve Floyd and Marques Townes, two proven names from the highest ranks of NCAA basketball. Floyd – who has authored a book highlighting his own encounters with mental health – was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019, while Townes was a key part of Loyola-Chicago’s Final Four run in 2018. 

While the roster is yet to be finalized, expect energy to be a key part of the formula. 

“We’re going to be mentally tough, no pun intended,” said head coach Josh King, an assistant as MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany’s top league. “If you look at the structure of our team, we’ve got six or seven guys committed right now. They’re all younger guys, we’re working on getting a couple older guys, just to kind of balance it out. But I think that’s where we can really cause some havoc and some damage, we’re going to try to play fast.” 

King said that he was “all in” to coach the team upon hearing Tessitore’s message. 

“It just hits home,” said King. “I think, you know, some people have a really hard time with depression and mental health and everything. Everybody, to some degree, goes through it. It’s relatable to everybody.” 

Mental Toughness’ message has been well-received beyond the team’s core. Other charity-focused teams such as Sideline Cancer and Challenge ALS served as inspirations for McGee and have welcomed the upstarts with open arms. 

“Those were definitely teams that I’ve watched in the past,” said McGee. “I remember when we first made our Twitter account, before we even had an announcement, all we did was make an account, we followed [Sideline Cancer] and they screenshotted our account and, and tweeted it out … they were really appreciative of what we were trying to make, even though we didn’t have any players or even an official statement announced yet.” 

It may be easy to point towards Sideline Cancer’s run through the 2020 TBT as a blueprint for Mental Toughness in 2021. Led by Marcus Keene, Mo Creek, Jamel Artis, Diamond Stone and a talented supporting cast, the squad eventually fell in the championship game to the Golden Eagles.

Tessitore, however, is quick to point out that while the tournament’s million dollar grand prize would be a significant benefit to the foundation, the team’s purpose goes well beyond what any monetary figure can provide. 

“The whole goal of this team is to provide hope for anyone suffering, and to continue to build community care around mental health” said Tessitore. “And not only provide them hope, but then after providing them hope, they can come to the foundation, they can, they can learn a bit more about what’s going on in their life and feel accepted … this team is playing for the people. We’re playing for anyone out there that needs extra support, because we know exactly how it feels to need that support. You are truly never alone on your mental health journey and we have your back” 

That said, the winning share of the tournament could be a “game changer” for the foundation, according to Tessitore. 

“It would do so much good,” said Tessitore. “With all the work that we’re doing in schools, we’re trying to reach as many students, as many faculty members/administrators, as many parents as possible. And also in the whole fight for breaking down the stigma.”

“I mean, this money would do wonders, in terms of expanding our programs and expanding awareness and being able to really work on more and more initiatives that could continue to give people hope.”