July 21, 2025
Stoneybrook Karate Shines at Nationals; Kevin Ghasseminia Named to Team USA
By Kyle Coppola
Stoneybrook Karate Shines at Nationals; Kevin Ghasseminia Named to Team USA
Stoneybrook Karate has once again proved why it’s among the premier martial arts programs in the nation, dominating two consecutive national championships this summer and producing one of the sport’s most amazing comeback stories.
The Florida-based dojo turned heads with standout performances at both the AAU Karate Nationals and USA Karate Nationals. With a small but mighty group of competitors, Stoneybrook upheld its reputation as the top-ranked single dojo in the country for AAU Karate and finished among the top 13 teams at USA Karate Nationals, an impressive feat considering the team brought only 12 athletes.
(On the left is Hamzeh or Kevin the new Team USA athlete and on the right is Sensei Gian Paul (or Sensei GP). Sensei GP will be accompanying Kevin to Paraguay as his chaperone.)
While the collective success was noteworthy, the story that stole the spotlight belongs to Hamzeh De Guzman Ghasseminia, a 17-year-old athlete known to teammates as Kevin. A multi-sport competitor from Horizon West High School, Kevin stepped away from karate in his early teens to pursue football. But a twist of fate brought him back and quickly catapulted him onto the international stage.
It began when Kevin offered to help a teammate, Ryland, prepare for Nationals. The training sessions reignited a passion and revealed that not only had Kevin’s skills endured, but his football conditioning had made him faster, stronger, and more explosive.
Recognizing his potential, Ryland’s family sponsored Kevin to compete.
Despite facing competitors who had remained in the sport year-round, Kevin excelled. He secured second place nationally and earned a coveted spot on Team USA. Next month, he will represent the United States at the Pan American Karate Championships in Paraguay, an absolutely incredible comeback!
Congratulations to Kevin! We look forward to seeing him compete for Team USA at the Pan American Karate Championships!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
