Coaches Share Expectations Ahead of Men’s U21 Pan American Cup

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 22, 2026. – The coaches of the eight teams participating in the 2026 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup shared their expectations on the eve of competition, highlighting the tournament as an important opportunity to evaluate emerging talent, strengthen team development, and continue preparation for future international events.

The tournament will take place from June 23 to 28 at the Gimnasio Teodoro Palacios Flores in Guatemala City, featuring Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, the United States, and Venezuela competing for the continental title.

Fans will be able to follow all the action live on the YouTube and Facebook platforms of the Guatemala National Volleyball Federation (Federación Nacional de Voleibol de Guatemala). Four matches will be played daily at 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. local time.

Luis Antonio Arias, Head Coach of Venezuela: “We are very pleased to be part of this competition. We have high aspirations and want to compete at the highest level possible. We understand that it will be a very competitive and demanding tournament, which is extremely important for this team as it continues its development. Competitions like this allow players to gain valuable international experience and continue growing throughout their development process”.

Mike Hawkins, Head Coach of Canada: “Our preparation was a brief trial camp and a couple of weeks of training. It’s a unique group, obviously it’s a unique summer with just one year for this U21 cycle, so we have a wide range of age classes, which allowed us to find athletes that have potential to move on to senior level. For many of these guys it’s their first opportunity at a significant international competition. We are all excited to see how they all perform”.

Arturo Solano, Head Coach of Costa Rica: “We are very excited to be here. We have a strong team, with several players who have experience at the senior national team level, which helps us put together a stronger and more competitive group. Our first challenge is to face the Central American teams—which are very competitive—and Canada, a team we have always wanted to play against, as we look to advance to the semifinals”.

José Francisco Lerebours, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic: “We have a project that we have been developing for several months. We come into this tournament with high expectations of reaching the podium, as we have been carrying out a great deal of work and preparation”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of Guatemala: “Our objective is to continue the development process of these players born in 2006 and later. Many of them have not yet had international experience due to adjustments in the competition age categories between AFECAVOL and NORCECA. We are pleased with the progress of the group, both in terms of their physical development and their technical and tactical growth. We aim to have a strong tournament and advance as far as possible”.

Erick Eduardo Hernández, Head Coach of Mexico: “It is a pleasure to be in Guatemala. We come from an intense preparation period in Guaymas, Sonora, a city with weather conditions very similar to those here. The players have worked very hard and understand the importance of this competition. We want to have a strong tournament, achieve the best results possible, and continue contributing to their development as future members of our senior national teams. We will leave everything on the court, give our very best, and trust that the work we have put in will help us achieve our goals."

Jorge Mena, Head Coach of Nicaragua: “As always, we are here to compete hard and give our very best. This competition was not originally part of our annual plan, but we were given the opportunity to participate, and we prepared as much as possible, although we are not at one hundred percent. We have brought a new group of players, from an older age category, to help prepare them for future competitions. Nicaragua is known for its fighting spirit, for giving everything on the court and battling until the very last point is played”.

Donan Cruz, Head Coach of United States: “We had a really good training in Colorado Springs, at our Olympic Training Center. This team we bring is a very good blend of young players, some were in Xiamen for the U21 World Championship, so we have a new group of young and old players, some of them will be eligible to play in 2028 for the youth World Championships. We’ll see some of our new and young talent in this tournament”.