By Kristen Shepard
Staff Writer

Some Coppell High School sophomores are sitting next to a national champion in their World History, English or Geometry classes, and they may not even know it.

At just 15 years old, sophomore Kareem Moussa has won the Junior Table Tennis U.S. Open, and taken up basketball upon moving from Egypt to America. Moussa has played pingpong all over the world, from his hometown in Egypt, to America, and even camps in China.

Since the first time Moussa saw a pingpong table, his father knew he would eventually become a great player. In Cairo, where Kareem grew up pingpong is as common of a sport as basketball or baseball is in the United States.

“The first time Kareem came into contact with the game, he was 5,” Kareem’s father Raul Moussa said. “He came with me to the gym [in Egypt] to watch me practice. From then on, he really loved the game, and gained skill very quickly.”

Kareem excelled at pingpong in Cairo, but after the Egyptian uprisings and rebellions started to grow more severe, Kareem’s family moved to the United States. Kareem’s family moved across the Atlantic Ocean four and a half years ago, and the transition made it difficult for Kareem to locate a venue to practice pingpong.

“We looked for a place to practice for a while, and then we finally found Timarron [Country Club in Southlake],” Kareem said. “I used to practice a lot more than I do now, and I played against lots of adults several times a week. It was nothing like practicing in Egypt though.”

At just 11 years old, Kareem’s father entered him in the 2008 Junior Table Tennis U.S. Open. The annual U.S. Open was held in Las Vegas, where Kareem was given the chance to challenge other pingpong players as old as 18, seven years older than Kareem was at the time. Kareem stepped up to the challenge and won the gold medal for the 18 and Under Division.

“I played my best, and my experience overseas gave me an advantage in the tournament,” Kareem said.

Kareem’s success brought him many opportunities, not only to play the sport he loves, but to network and receive sponsorships. After the winning the Open, Stiga and Butterfly Co. offered him sponsorships, but because of his interest in basketball, he declined as he did not have the time to play pingpong competitively as much. Through it all, Kareem is surprisingly humble about his momentous accomplishment. His friends that are aware of his championship, however, are impressed.

“I was surprised when I found out about Kareem’s pingpong award,” sophomore Micah King said. “He was in some local newspapers for it and it’s definitely a unique sport, maybe not in Egypt but in the U.S. it is definitely different.”

Moving to an America caused the Moussas to adjust to a new culture. Not only this, the move to the United States meant that Kareem’s father would become busier with work, and since Kareem had less time to practice pingpong, he took up basketball.

“Kareem did not have the experience the other middle schoolers at [Coppell Middle School North] had,” Mr. Moussa said. “The coaches put him on [seventh grade] B team and then eventually moved him down to C team. He worked so hard that he made the freshman A team and is now playing on JV II”.

Kareem worked through the obstacle of not having experience by working hard and practicing, the same method that allowed him to become so successful in pingpong. Kareem’s family has grown accustom to versatility and hard work. Kareem’s sister, Reem, plays collegiate basketball on a scholarship at Rice, where she is a sophomore.

“As a parent, I have not had to push Kareem,” Mr. Moussa said. “It makes it so easy when the kids love the sport. I just stand back and help in whatever way I can.”

Though Kareem’s busy schedule has made it difficult for him to practice lately, he has not shut pingpong out of his schedule completely. And who knows, maybe Kareem will reenter the Open as an adult in pursuit of the $100,000 first place prize?