CUERNAVACA, Morelos, July 7, 2025. – One day before the start of the U19 Boys’ Pan American Cup, the coaches of the eight participating teams shared their thoughts and expectations for the tournament, which will take place from July 8 to 13 at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM) Gymnasium.
The event brings together promising youth talents from across the continent, offering them valuable international experience and the opportunity to continue developing within high-performance programs.
Jordan Taylor, Head Coach of Canada: “We had a training camp in Halifax; we trained a couple of times a day which is a big step for us versus last year’s competition. This year we have more continuity, so we feel a little bit more organized and prepared for competition. We’re bringing a younger squad, five returning players with NORCECA experience, for the majority, it’s going to be their first international competition, so it’s going to be a growth and learning event for these twelve athletes.”
Alvaro Del Campo, Head Coach of Chile: “The team is happy to be part of such an important international competition. We’ve been preparing with great dedication for several months. This is a group that’s been working together since last year’s South American tournaments. Our preparation included a tour to Uberlandia before coming to Mexico. We come with high expectations and the desire to compete against other countries.”
Oscar Viña, Head Coach of Mexico: “The team was built from the national championship. I selected players from the top four teams of that tournament, along with others with strong potential. We’ve been training here in Morelia for two weeks. The work has been solid; we may lack height compared to other teams, but I trust this group.”
Horacio Angulo, Head Coach of Panama first highlighted that Panama is making its return to this level of competition after more than a decade of absence: “Panama hadn’t competed in an event like this for over ten years, it’s very gratifying. We’re here to show that high-level volleyball is played in Central America. We’ll take it one match at a time and focus on our own game.”
Juan Albarrán, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “The Pan American Cup is a great preparation tournament for the U19 World Championship in Uzbekistan. We’re taking this competition very seriously. The pool we’re in offers strong preparation, and we’re confident we can do a good job.”
Furgil Ong-A-Fat, Head Coach of Suriname: “Our preparation went well. We started at the end of January with 60 players. We played friendly matches against French Guiana, so we’re motivated. The team has experience from the NORCECA U19 in Puerto Rico, and we hope to improve our position.”
Jonah Carson, Head Coach of the United States: “This is a great opportunity for the development of our programs. We’ve got four players with previous international experience representing USA Volleyball. This is the first time USA Volleyball has been able to send a U19 team to both a Pan American Cup and a World Championship, so we have two distinct rosters. We’re looking to help accelerate the growth of our under-19 and coaching programs, and this is a nice first step in that. With the addition of the U17 category, we’re seeing something incredible develop here in NORCECA and globally.”
Iván Nieto, Head Coach of Venezuela, emphasized that this event is part of the country’s federation restructuring and youth development process: “This competition is part of the development cycle for these young athletes. Most of the group is inexperienced, and we hope to showcase the progress they’ve made during this recent phase of training. We’ve gone through changes in our national federation and are forming new work teams. This is an opportunity for the newly identified talents to demonstrate the rise of Venezuelan volleyball.”
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