Squash Empowers Dyslexic Students

The Gow School South Wales was founded in 1926 to help students address their language based disabilities such as dyslexia. Today, the school is known throughout the world for its work with students dealing with dyslexia and attracts students from as far away as Taiwan, Venezuela, and China. According to The Buffalo News, the school has a thriving squash program and that is no coincidence.

Mark Szafnicki is the athletic director at Gow, and he also serves as tennis coach and a supervisor for the squash team. According to Szafnicki, the reason racket sports are such a big part of the athletics at Gow is that they play to the strengths of dyslexics.

“Dyslexics show great strengths in visual and spatial processing,” Szafnicki said. “Tennis and squash are great sports for these youngsters.”

Szafnicki says that dyslexic players thrive in racket sports because communication is direct, and they are able to employ their spatial skills in an activity that emphasizes technique and consistency over complicated decision-making. The coach says that a game like squash is well applied for a dyslexic’s skillset, who can think on their feet and employ their creativity to achieve success.

Students learning the fundamentals of a game like squash has benefits for dyslexic students off the court. The competence that an athlete shows in the game builds confidence that is then transferred to the classroom, which is essential for overcoming reading difficulties.

The squash program at Gow began in 2002 and utilizes three international courts built by Gordon Anderson, who has built courts for facilities all over the world. Gow competes with local schools and schools in Canada. A number of players from the school have competed in the National Championships at Yale University.

Read more about the Gow School South Wales racket sports program at The Buffalo News.