Gabrielle Robinson probably wouldn't have ended up at Franklin & Marshall College if it wasn't for the sport of squash.

She enrolled at F&M this fall after completing a program called StreetSquash, which teaches children how to play the sport and pairs each with an adult tutor for help in school.

It was through StreetSquash, Robinson said, that she developed good study habits and learned about F&M, a college she'd never heard of before.

"This program has opened up a lot of doors. It's taken me a lot of places," she said.

Now Robinson, a freshman from New York City, wants to give other children the same chance she had.

She plans to volunteer as a tutor and coach in a new program being developed by F&M to benefit students at Reynolds Middle School.

Called Squash ACES (After-School Community Enrichment Strategy), it will teach 10 to 15 sixth-graders how to play squash and provide each of them with a tutor to help with homework, studying for tests and improving behavior in school.

Participants also will complete community service projects and visit college campuses.

F&M plans to implement Squash ACES  in January using college students and staff members as coaches and tutors.

Details are being finalized, but plans call for the Reynolds students to be picked up after school two or three days a week and dropped off at F&M, where they'll spend at least an hour on the squash courts and an hour working in Martin Library of the Sciences.

Each student will have his or her own tutor, who will work with the Reynolds principal to keep tabs on grades, homework, attendance and behavior.

Squash instruction will begin with simple drills to develop hand-eye coordination and footwork and familiarize students with the basic rules and techniques of squash, which includes elements of racquetball, tennis and badminton.

Eventually, Squash ACES will field teams that will compete with other middle school squads from the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas.

"Squash is a sport that can provide an opportunity for someone who maybe isn't that good in football or baseball or soccer," said Patty Epps, F&M's director of athletics and recreation.

If Squash ACES is a success, participation will be expanded to other grades, and tutors will continue to work with students through their high school careers.

Two anonymous donors have pledged $150,000 to support the program, and the college will seek grants for additional funding, Epps said.

Once it's running, Squash ACES will join nearly 12 similar programs designed to help economically disadvantaged students in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, San Diego and other cities.

Those programs have a successful record, according to the National Urban Squash and Education Association.

Of the 200 students who have completed urban squash programs, 198 have graduated from high school, and about 170 have gone on to college, the association said.

Those numbers are impressive, given that most participating schools have graduation rates of 60 percent or less.

The graduation rate for School District of Lancaster, which includes Reynolds, is 65.3 percent.

"We definitely think it will benefit our kids, and we're happy to partner with F&M," Reynolds assistant principal Mark Simms said.

"I think it's a great program that, for one thing, is going to get Reynolds Middle School students onto a college campus.

"That will get their antennas up about what college is and what it takes to get there. Just being in that environment will plant that seed early."

Robinson knew nothing about squash until she saw a demonstration by StreetSquash at her Harlem, N.Y., middle school school six years ago.

At the urging of a friend whose brother was in the program, she signed up.

Two or three nights every week, she and other participants would ride the train to practices and tutoring sessions at the YWCA, Columbia University or the Harvard Club.

Attendance was mandatory, and the rigorous schedule left little room for other activities.

"It took a lot to stick with it," she said. "You really have to love it to stick with it."

As her squash game improved, so did her study habits and grades.

Through StreetSquash, she learned about F&M's squash program and decided to apply for admission.

"I don't know if I would have even known about F&M if it wasn't for the program," she said. "Programs like this, they do so much.

"I know what it's done for me, and I know what it can do for a lot of other kids, so I would just love to be a part of that because I know it had a big influence on my life."

E-mail: bwallace@lnpnews.com