Jasna Reed is the type of athlete who brings attention to her sport. She has a tremendous amount of skill and just as much personality. Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina on December 20, 1970, Jasna was not one of those youngsters who was excited to play table tennis. In fact, to hear her tell it, she did not really like table tennis at all. Her parents wanted her to learn the game so they would drop her off at a table tennis training center for lessons. As soon as they left, so did Jasna, sneaking next door to watch other students training in karate or gymnastics. Her dislike for the game changed when she won her first tournament. She enjoyed the feeling of winning and it was a big enough draw to keep her in the sport.
Jasna is a four time Olympian, competing as a member of the Yugoslavia team in 1988 and 1992, and as a member of the United States team in 2000 and 2004. She won a bronze medal in the Women’s Doubles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. She has often been named as one of the top ten players in the world, winning championships around the world. In 1992, after war had torn apart her home country, Jasna left to play table tennis in Belgium and then Japan. The money was decent, but she did not feel at home so she left. While playing tournaments in the U.S. she was approached with an offer to coach at a new training facility in exchange for an academic scholarship to Oakland University in Michigan. In 2002, when Texas Wesleyan University began its table tennis program, Jasna was the first recruit. These days she is the head coach for the university as well as a member of their table tennis team, all while pursuing her doctorate in education. For the first time in a long time Jasna feels at home. She hopes to one day become a teacher at the university where she has been welcomed so warmly.
Jasna did not earn a place on the U.S. team for the 2008 Olympics. She acknowledges that she may be on her way down the rankings field. She points to the lack of serious competition in the United States as one of the reasons she and other here are not able to compete on the international stage. One of the reasons she agreed to coach at TWU was her desire to help keep the program at its highest level. The university recruits players from outside of the United States, which, Jasna explains, helps U.S. athletes because it gives them tougher competition, enabling them the opportunity to be challenged and improve their game. Without more challenging competition, the United States is unlikely to rise to a level capable of earning a medal at any Olympics. U.S. Olympic Women’s coach, Doru Gheorghe, believes Jasna will help U.S. table tennis athletes to become more competitive while gaining more support from this country. He feels that she is capable of taking table tennis in a new direction, getting the sport in the public’s eye, and making them want to watch.
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