Interview with Jasna Reed, USA National and Collegiate Women's Singles Champion

By Larry Hodges

Major Titles

·        1981-92: 20+-time Yugoslavian Champion in Singles, Doubles & Team events

·        1988 Olympic Bronze Medal – Women’s Doubles (Seoul)

·        1988 European gold – Mixed Doubles with Ilija Lupulesku (Paris)

·        1988, ‘90, ‘92 European Bronze – Team Event (Paris, Gothenburg, Stuttgart)

·        1991 two Gold’s –Women’s Singles & Doubles at Mediterranean Games (Athens)

·        1991 two Gold’s – Women’s Singles & Doubles at Balkan Games

·        1992 European gold – Women’s Doubles with Gordana Perkucin (Stuttgart)

·        2001 North American Champion – Women’s Doubles

·        2001 & 2002 USA National Champion – Women’s Doubles

·        2002 Collegiate Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles Champion

·        2003 Gold Medal – Pan-American Games – Women’s Doubles

·        2003 USA National Women’s Singles & Doubles, Mixed Doubles Champion

·        2004 USA National Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles Runner-up

·        2005 USA National Women’s Singles Champion

·        2005 North American Women’s Singles Runner-up, Women’s Doubles Champion

·        2006 Collegiate Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles Champion

·        Member, 2000 & 2004 USA Olympic Team (#1 at 2004 USA and North American Trials)

·        Member, USA National Team, 2000 to present

·        Certified by USATT as a National Coach

 Congratulations on winning the Collegiate National Championships! Tell us about college and your future plans. Feel free to elaborate! 

Thank you. This year’s Collegiate Nationals was the strongest ever. The women’s singles level was almost equivalent to the USA Nationals. I didn’t really think that I would win so easily. I guess I was “luckier” than others. You know me, I am always afraid before the tournament, and I always deny that I have a chance against anyone, but when it is over I act more confidant.

Texas Wesleyan University keeps bringing good athletes/students to its program. We are still the only university with table tennis scholarships. Of course not everyone is entitled to it, but everyone is welcome to be a part of our great program. It is an ideal place for anyone interested in higher education while taking part in organized table tennis training in an environment with all levels of teammates. I think this is the only way for young players to continue playing, unless they are willing to sacrifice their education for something uncertain.

I was part of both worlds (international and national scene), so I think that I am pretty fair when I make these statements. Nowadays many (I would say 90%) of table tennis players in the top 200 in the world have only a high school degree, and sometimes not even that. This is not yet a sport where you can secure your future by being in the top 200. Everyone outside the top 30 men and 10 women in the world are just surviving from what they make. We all know how difficult it is to become those 40. Also, even if you are very talented, but are in a country that does not invest much in table tennis (camps, coaches, athletes, tournaments, etc.) it would cost a fortune to reach a high enough level where your name would be mean something in the table tennis world. Until that changes in our country, and until our sport gets the deserved credit throughout the world, with many TT athletes with good contracts, we should focus on combinations of education and sport. If we start building serious table tennis programs, like the one here at Texas Wesleyan, we would eventually be closer to world level. All the other sports in the U.S. would be nothing if they did not have college leagues and organized training. It is a miracle that we have players at all, without any serious clubs, and only one university program with scholarships in the whole country.

I wish all other schools had such an amazing President (Dr. Harold Jeffcoat) and Athletic Department as we have here. They created us in 2001, and they have taken great care of us ever since. We might be a small school, but we definitely have made our mark in the sports that are played here. Beside table tennis, where we won six out of seven national titles this year, we have National Champions in basketball, and all other sports here won at least their conference championships. I am happy to be part of Texas Wesleyan, and very proud of every student/athlete on this campus.

It is interesting that winners of the highest senior standing award for student achievement were none other than two National Champions, Eric Owens (table tennis) and Ben Hunt (basketball). See www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/colleges/14562577.htm.

Starting next semester at Texas Wesleyan, Keith Evans and I will be Head Coaches. At the same time I will continue to work on my Master’s in Education. If everything goes well I will graduate in Spring, 2007. After that I would like to go further in school. I want to stay here as long as possible, since I really like it.  

How were the Worlds? Anything interesting to tell us?

I was not so impressed with Worlds this year. I guess without Tawny there, it did not feel like the World Championship. Tawny, this is the last time that you let us go without you!!!

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