Coaches Share Their Tournament Expectations

Ahead of NORCECA Final Six

PONCE, Puerto Rico, October 5^th, 2025.- The Juan ‘Pachín’ Vicéns Auditorium is ready to host the fifth edition of the NORCECA Men’s Final Six, as head coaches from Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and the United States share their expectations for the event, which runs from October 6th to 12th.

Renato Soares, Mexico’s Head Coach: “For this event, we couldn’t bring our complete team, as some athletes are currently with their clubs. However, we have a core group from the main squad who have already gained experience with the national team this year, along with the return of a couple of athletes who had been absent for some time. We’re here to earn FIVB ranking points, which are highly beneficial for us and our Olympic Games project. We’ve brought a strong team to compete for the top spots, that remains our primary objective.

Jamille Torres, Puerto Rico’s Head Coach: “We're coming with a roster very similar to the one we used in the Pan American Cup. We have two players who are out due to injury, and part of the process we had this summer was to try out young players. We have very high expectations and we're coming to win. Playing in Puerto Rico creates a little more pressure for us because we have to compete in front of our fans in the stands. We don't get many opportunities to play at home, so when we come here, we want to give the best performance possible, without detracting from our main goals: to continue growing and improving for the future.”

Karch Kiraly, United States’ Coach: “We are excited to have put together a young team for this tournament. Almost all of the guys are enrolled in college and are student-athletes competing in the American College Volleyball season. It’s a really fun group. Although we didn’t have much time to practice together, we look forward to the challenge of seeing how strong a team we can build in just a few days. Our main objective, for them and for all of us, is to continue learning and improving, and hopefully we’ll be better at the end of the tournament than we are today. ”

José Gutiérrez, Dominican Republic’s Coach: “At the beginning of the year, we had hoped to have a full roster for this tournament, but for reasons beyond our control, that wasn’t possible. We have a group of experienced players, though they haven’t had the opportunity to practice together. As the tournament progresses, we’ll be adjusting a few things. We hope to take it step by step and improve with each match. To the extent possible, we’ll aim to advance with this group, and that’s exactly what we’re going to try to do: go out, deliver the best performance we can within our limitations, and keep our eyes on 2026 and the Central American Games.”

Grant Wilson, Canada’s Head Coach: “Our team is made up of university players who are excited to be here. We’re a young and relatively inexperienced group, but we’re looking forward to participating in this event. We’ve been training since September 1st and also played an exhibition match last weekend, so we’re glad we had the opportunity to practice and play together. Our main goal is to enjoy this experience and continue improving. We’re looking forward to competing against some of the best teams from NORCECA, seeing how this challenges us as a group, and helps us grow.”

Suriname is expected to arrive later.

The NORCECA Men’s Final Six tournament awards world ranking points to teams not competing in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and serves as part of the qualification process for the Central American and Caribbean Games, awarding continental ranking points to all participating teams.