Coaches agree: "It will be a balanced tournament"

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, June 22, 2019 - Central American Championship U23 women's volleyball that will start on Sunday at the Alexis Arguello Gym, of this city, is qualified as a "very competitive event", by the coaches of the seven competing teams.

The majority of players have had several years in the process of national teams and some are part of the senior teams, and that is why the tournament "will delight volleyball lovers" and above all "the big winner will be the volleyball of the Central American zone", the coaches agreed.

José Fontes, from Belize:

"We have several players who were vice champions the last year in the Central American Major Championship and we have been training for more than four months for this tournament. The expectations are to stay in the volleyball elite of the region."

"Almost all the coaches agree that it will be a very even tournament, very difficult and at the same time very beautiful for the people of Nicaragua, because they will see a high level since all the teams will give everything to be on the podium."

William Fernández, Guatemala: "This competition will be very close between the seven teams, we are prepared for that, to find a lot of resistance. It will be very close. The players have a high degree of maturity, most have gone through a selection process from U18, U20... even higher."

"Here there is no team that is above the others, it will be a great show that we will all enjoy. We have a well-prepared team, we were in the Pan American Cup last year and we have been preparing for this event since last year. "

Noe Fabián, El Salvador: "This tournament has been preparing since the previous year and in the region the teams are very even. In our case the players have trained with the intention of giving surprises, hoping to have the best possible result ".

"The tournament in Belize last year (Major) was very even, a three-way tie in the first place that was decided by a couple of sets ... and we were close to giving the surprise, so we think we're here to give a good presentation here. "

Caterine Leiva, Honduras: "Most of the players in this tournament are the future and in some cases, the present, of the Major category. We have a championship of high competitive level, many have been playing for years since junior tournament and they know each other ... it will be a great show ".

"We all want to be on the podium and that will make it interesting. We come with high expectations, we want to get on the podium and then we will see the color of the medal. We are coming with a positive mind."

Claudia Noguera, Nicaragua: "This tournament has the national teams with the best of their country, I've seen that the senior teams are mostly made up of players in this under 23 category, and it's very encouraging, there are young people, with talent, who are going to take the volleyball Central America to another level".

"We have a combination of junior and youth players. They are the future of our team, we are promoting them, they are developing and the idea is to prepare them for the Central American Games in two years".

Ignacio Araya, Costa Rica: "The effort made by Afecavol and Norceca in the women's tournaments is very positive, which has resulted in a very competitive event, a very even level among all the teams. I think we will see very intense matches, of five sets, because we will all fight to be on the podium.

"The countries have prepared, I think we will see a more modern volleyball, faster, in general terms it is a gain for the volleyball of the region that allows us to excel at the NORCECA level".

"We bring a quite varied group, it is a strong, tall, mature team that comes to seek to maintain the hegemony that we have had in the area."

Ismael Ortega, from Panama:

"Panama has not been good in these tournaments, the internal problems have affected volleyball, but this year with great effort we managed to draw a national preselection thanks to a tournament that took place. Now the National Team is not only from the capital, but we have players from several zones, thinking of having a good team by 2022, since we are host of the Central American and Caribbean Games. "

"Our work aims at medium and long term with young players who have an average age of 19."