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 USA
Girls looking for a fifth consecutive NORCECA
title
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, April 27, 2010 – Jim
Stone faces the big challenge of winning a fifth
consecutive NORCECA Girls’ Youth Championship
title while coaching an under 18 years-old USA
Team he barely knows.
The veteran Stone was appointed last month to
coach the USA side in the 10-team tournament
which acts as qualifier to the first ever Youth
Olympic Games to be held in Singapore in August
and to the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World
Championship in Turkey.
Asked about his team’s chances of success, Stone
admitted that “at this moment I have more
questions than answers as this is a very
inexperienced group”.
But he was quick to add: “We hope to get better
with every match”.
Here are the excerpts of the coaches’ statements
right after the general technical meeting held
Monday night at Clarion Hotel in downtown
Guatemala City:
Jesse Knight (CAN):
“We have changed our approach and instead of an
all-star from all over Canada, we are bringing a
team from Calgary, Alberta. So we are pretty
confident about our ability to be a team. We
have some key players like our middle-blocker
Alexa Gray and good leadership qualities from
Carolyn O’ Dwyer and Megan Festival”.
Alberto Blanco (CRC):
“Our team always has been a power in Central
America and we are getting closer to the high
level. Our senior team qualified for second time
to the World Championship and this has been a
great motivation for this young girls. I would
be satisfied with a fourth place here.”
Giovanni Sibilia (DOM):
“We have been working for two years and we hope
to perform to a high level. With players of this
age you never know how they are going to react,
but we are well prepared despite the fact that
we are in the pool of death. They know how to
play.”
Ingrid Rivas (ESA):
“We are very happy about taking part in this
tournament of high level and we hope to get the
best out of it. In every match we will try to do
the best we can as national team of El
Salvador.”
Julio Dominguez (GUA):
“The team is motivated by the level of this
competition. As host country we hope to give our
best performance. We have been training for one
and half year but in the process we have added
some new players.”
O’Neil Ebanks (JAM):
“We are very inexperienced but we are here to be
very competitive and to represent our sport with
the best of our ability. We hope to improve with
every game as is a learning process for our
players.”
Jose Bernal (MEX):
“Our team comes well prepared and we have
excellent athletes and a good staff of coaches.
I think we are going to enjoy a good competition
and we are very happy to visit Guatemala”.
Erick Gonzalez (PUR):
“For many of our players this is their first
international competition. They are very anxious
before the start. We hope to have a good
performance. United States has won the last four
events, Dominican Republic is also competitive
and Mexico is another team we have to take with
care.”
Macsood Ali (TRI):
“This is a great opportunity for our young team
to continue growing. We are very happy to be
here and grateful to NORCECA for giving our
country the opportunity to compete at this
level.”
James Stone (USA):
“This is a very inexperienced group of players
and to be honest I don’t know them very well. We
hope to get better with every match. About our
chances of winning, at this moment I can say
that I have more questions than answers.”
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