Trip to homeland of Egypt was eye-opening for Bell defender

A young boy when his family won a visa lottery to move from Egypt to America, Keroles Dawed admits that he didn’t understand the good fortune they’d been granted.

Now that he’s returned to his native land a couple of times as a teenager, he realizes the chance he was given and plans to take full advantage of the opportunity.

“It was eye-opening to see how they’re living,” the Hurst L.D. Bell senior defensive end said. “Culture shock, you could say that.”

Dawed said the thing he remembers most about his family’s journey to the United States was that amid his parents’ happiness, there was also an understandable fear. While hope and positivity awaited, it was a huge change nonetheless.

“They were a little scared. They were going to leave their family behind,” he said. “But they knew it was a great opportunity for our family.”

The Dawed family landed in Arlington first, living there a couple of years. Then they lived in neighboring Euless for several years before moving to Hurst.

“I thought I was going to go to Trinity,” Dawed said with a chuckle. “But my parents bought a house here. I have a couple of friends at Trinity, but turns out a bunch of my friends also moved.”

Dawed sat on the bench mostly while playing for Hurst Junior High. After a couple years of subvarsity ball, he made the Bell varsity roster as a junior.

It was also around that time that Dawed said he came to the realization that even though he is in America, simply having an opportunity would not result in success. He became inspired to raise his game, and his entire life, to a higher level.

He also found a special relationship with defensive coordinator Brady Bond, who encouraged him to become the leader Bond saw in him.

“Keroles was a really strong kid, but it didn’t seem like he was using it all,” Bond said. “He really started taking to the coaching we gave him.

“He said he wants to play in college but he thought he was too small. I said, ‘If you play hard, some colleges will notice you.’ ”

At the time, Dawed was 6-0 and weighed 220 pounds. Now he’s added 10 pounds and not only believes he will play in college but wants to become a coach and help other youngsters, perhaps even from his home country, find a positive future.

“Going back to Egypt did open my eyes, and now I realize if I don’t try, I could end up like them,” Dawed said. “Maybe if I get myself a good career, some money, I could bring some more of [his family] here and they wouldn’t have to struggle any more.

“Plus, coaching just seems like it would be really fun, and you’re getting to help kids. I’d love to come right back here and coach defensive ends.”

Bond said he thinks Dawed will be a great coach if he enters that profession.

“He’s turned into a tremendous leader. He’s taken on that next role, and kids look up to him,” Bond said. “He’s been given the opportunity, but it’s all about what you do with that opportunity, and he knows that now.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Trip to homeland of Egypt was eye-opening for Bell defender."