Simon hits the inclusivity bullseye in Chatswood
Simon O’Connor is using archery to help children and adults with disability become empowered and learn concentration.
The Chatswood resident teaches archery to 200 students across Sydney each week, including 60 pupils at Chatswood High, where his own children are students, and says he adjusts his program to suit each school’s needs.
As well as the physical benefits of the controlled action, Simon says archery teaches students concentration skills, a useful tool in the classroom, particularly for neurodivergent students.
“You have to develop the ability to focus and concentrate on the job at hand,” explains Simon. “Is there something going on beside you? Is someone telling a joke? Is someone talking behind you? You have to be able to turn that off. And that’s by far one of the best outcomes you can get with archery.
“Quite often, an autistic child has a very unique approach to things,” says Simon. “But because archery’s not a team sport, they can approach it differently, and it doesn’t have to interfere with anybody else.
“It means they get involved. They can participate and feel some self-worth. And they do some physical exercise and get away from the devices.”
Simon fell in love with the sport at just 12, at a school camp. After working with several clubs, he set up his own business, Sydney Archery, 10 years ago and teaches the sport every Sunday on Greville Street Reserve in Chatswood.
He keeps the cost down for participants by setting up a mobile operation and providing all the archery equipment for people to use, before packing it away again at the end of the day.
Simon says that archery is an ideal sport for all ages, abilities and disabilities. He explains that many gravitate towards the sport because, physically or mentally, many team sports may not suit them.
Archery can have enormous benefits for the body and the mind, Simon says. It helps with fine motor skills, flexibility, balance, strength and confidence, while teaching focus and patience.
“It’s a very ‘controlled muscle’ sport,” explains Simon. “But not something that age would limit, as the power of the equipment is dependent on your ability. We have very lightweight bows that can be used by either an eight-year-old, or a 90-year-old.
“It’s something that anybody can do. And particularly in the way we structure it, we make it so that anybody can hit the target,” Simon says. “I’ve taught a group of adults with a variety of disabilities. One woman with cerebral palsy, who used a wheelchair, was really empowered by physically firing a bow. I was assisting her, but you could see in her eyes that she was really getting something out of it.”
Simon says you can ‘break the rules’ to suit each player, and he adapts his coaching accordingly.
“I’ve got someone with nerve damage across her body, and even the notion of touching a bowstring gives her pain,” says Simon. “She used to be a dive instructor, but we’ve modified the system so that she can participate in archery her way. It doesn’t really conform to any rules or standards, but it allows her to participate.”
For more information, visit sydneyarchery.com.au