Israel ParaSport Center Levels Playing Field

A 10-year-old table tennis player shared his personal story of triumph via the Israel ParaSport Center at the first Jewish Student Connection meeting of the year.

Omer is visiting the United States from Israel as a representative of the Israel ParaSport Center, which “…provides a home away from home where thousands of people with physical disabilities become confident and succeed in life through competitive parasports such as basketball, tennis, swimming and archery.”

While meeting with student members of the Jewish Student Connection and other interested students during lunch, Omer explained that a congenital spine condition limited his abilities to participate in mainstream athletics, and he originally looked to the ParaSport Center to help him play soccer. While there, Omer discovered a range of other sports, and table tennis in particular struck his fancy.

What began as simple curiosity about the sport quickly snowballed into proficiency and, eventually, excellence: Today, Omer is ranked seventh globally in table tennis as a parasport athlete.

The student assembly watched a video produced by the center demonstrating its good work and asked questions of Omer and his father about his experience as an athlete and more.

Omer’s inspiring story and positive attitude were uplifting for all in attendance.

Click here for photos.