Mohamed Roman, better known as Hosa, lives in a small Arab community a few minutes west of Jerusalem. In the six or so years he has involved himself with Ultimate Peace’s leadership, coexistence, and sports programs, Hosa has grown from a hyper-active pre-teen to an adult. UP-Middle East is extremely lucky to have had him on staff for the last six months!
Hosa receiving his Starting Seven award from David
Hosa began participating in Ultimate Peace in 2010 with that year’s summer camp and kept coming back year after year. He showed great enthusiasm for Ultimate Peace, our sport and its people, from the very beginning. In fact, Hosa was nominated to be part of the “Starting Seven” at Camp in 2011 – a very small group selected from all 200 players that year. The winners are determined based on how they embodied the Five Values all week (Fun, Friendship, Non-violence, Integrity, and Mutual Respect). The “Starting Seven” announcement comes at Camp’s final ceremony before players get on buses to head home.
Hosa was among the seven names read out at the front of the auditorium… But only six players made their way across others’ knees and around staff sitting in the aisles towards the stage. Why? Well, very appropriately for Hosa, he was in the back of the large auditorium paying attention to something else entirely. He was jovially exchanging signatures on gear (jerseys, hats, discs) with the coaches who were also going to be heading back home after the Camp was over! It confused a lot of people on stage; and Hosa had to claim his “Starting Seven” award after the ceremony ended.
Then in 2012, Hosa joined the then Coach in Training (now Leader in Training) program, graduating with honors in the summer of 2015. Since October 2015, Hosa has coached at several UPME practices every week. Also in the Fall, Hosa joined the staff for Ultimate Peace Middle East, managing gear for the many tournaments, meetings, and other events.
In all these ways, Hosa continues to spread both the sport we love and the values we espouse. In his non-UP work, Hosa has acted as a bridge-builder between Jewish and Arab employees. It helps that he speaks three languages! He is even willing to pick up phrases from fourth and fifth languages (even if those phrases wear out after hours of repeating the same ones on a 3-hour car ride, each direction).
Hosa has shown what is possible through UP programming in the Middle East. He transformed from kid to teenage leader to Ultimate Peace staff! Most importantly, Hosa has become a role model for the many players, LITs, and even adult coaches and volunteers in the organization. Join us in thanking him for his great contributions to our work and our world and wishing him well in the months and years to come!