'Squash Lady' Is Teaching More Than Just A Sport
By Kevin Hess
Abby Markoe hears the questions. Why do you do it? Why pick that sport? Why give your time? Markoe, executive director for Baltimore SquashWise, has one simple answer.
“It gets kids engaged and it opens a lot of doors,” she said. “It’s both a team sport and an individual sport, so in that setup you are teaching lessons across the board about honesty and integrity.”
Squash, an ancient racquet sport played on an enclosed court with rules similar to handball and racquetball, began to gain national recognition on the youth level when Greg Zaff began a SquashBuster athletic and educational improvement program in Boston in 1995. From there, other programs began to pop up along the East Coast and Zaff rose to the position of executive director for the National Urban Squash and Education Association (NUSEA).
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NUSEA boasts a 100 percent graduation rate among all participants and 93 percent college attendance. These numbers led Markoe to heed the call and begin a squash program of her own in Baltimore, where she was going to graduate school. Last year, NUSEA selected Baltimore SquashWise as its first-ever "star program."
“I had always heard of these urban squash programs and loved the idea,” said Markoe, who was co-captain of George Washington University's inaugural women's squash team. “I’m not just their coach. I follow up with parents and that’s something that is unique about our program.”
Markoe found a partner in Nancy Cushman, owner of Meadow Mill Athletic Club, and the two teamed up to form SquashWise for youngsters in Baltimore City. Founded in 2007, the nonprofit organization provides kids with not only an after-school program but also academic tutoring to ensure students graduate high school and learn the values of teamwork and respect among peers.
“The idea is, squash is a lifetime sport and it’s something that can travel with you forever,” Cushman said. “It’s a tremendous steppingstone and a great way you can open doors for kids. It has so many values and it’s a tremendous teaching tool for kids.”
SquashWise teamed with West Baltimore's Booker T. Washington Middle School, where Markoe is now known as "the squash lady." More than a dozen kids spend three afternoons a week at Meadow Mill Athletic Club to work on their academics and their squash game. Participants must maintain passing grades and stay out of trouble to remain in the program.
Markoe sees SquashWise as a growing entity and knows the hard work involved in creating a positive environment for youngsters who may not normally have a place to go. The great reward for her is knowing the values the game teaches will stay with them for a lifetime.
“It’s a hook to get students involved in a much broader program of academic and social intervention,” she said. “It gives the kids an identity and something to be proud of.”
Issue 139: July 2009
