The Road to the 2029 Junior Pan American

Games Qualification Begins in León

LEÓN, Guanajuato, July 26, 2025.- The 2025 U23 Women’s Pan American Cup, to be held from July 27 to August 1 at the Domo de La Feria in León, Guanajuato, marks the beginning of the qualification path for the third Junior Pan American Games in 2029.

For the teams from the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA), the U23 Pan American Cups, both women’s and men’s, held in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028, will award ranking points valid for qualification to the 2029 Junior Pan American Games. The qualification process will close on December 31, 2028.

On this matter, the coaches shared their thoughts:

Matthew Krueger, Head Coach of Canada: “The goal of this tournament and the summer for NextGen (that’s how we call our program) is to get them ready to play a possible senior team. We’ve been training since the beginning of June, we had some tryouts beforehand, and we’ve been working hard. I’m excited to see how our girls can compete against the best in our conference and it’s going to be a good challenge for us”.

Kareem Richards, Head Coach of Costa Rica: “We have several objectives, both short and medium-term. Due to the number of competitions Costa Rica is currently participating in, we don’t have the full roster that will go to the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción. In the short term, for the players who are going to Asunción, we want them to gain the necessary experience to stand out in Paraguay. In the long term, we aim to continue identifying and developing those athletes who can make the leap to the senior national team.”

Wilfredo Robinson, Head Coach of Cuba: “We are aiming to keep the crown, that’s our dream. The players are excited about the responsibility they’ve been given. If reaching the final isn’t possible, we want to win a medal. This is a great opportunity to prepare for the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción.”

Wagner Pacheco, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic: “It will be a very tough competition; there are teams with a very high level. We had scrimmage matches with Mexico and Cuba, and both teams are well-prepared and look strong. This is the first time the United States is taking part in this competition, and they always have a very good level. Only a couple of my players here will not be competing in the Junior Pan American Games.”

Luis León, Head Coach of Mexico: “This is the group that will compete in Asunción in a few days. This tournament worked out perfectly to prepare us for the Junior Pan American Games. The goal is to reach the finals, fight for a spot on the podium, and I believe we have the team to compete.”

Claudia Noguera, Head Coach of Nicaragua: “We come well-prepared and highly motivated for the competition, which we know has a very high level. It is important for Central American countries to participate in tournaments against higher-level teams because that prepares the athletes for the future. We believe that the development of our region has risen due to participating at higher levels, and the teams’ pace and playing systems have greatly improved.”

Miguel Misidjang, Head Coach of Suriname: “The preparation of Suriname was good, we’ve been practicing for about three months, and we just finished second place in the CAZOVA U23 event, which has been good leading into this tournament. We are missing two players that couldn’t attend, because of other commitments. What we are looking for in this tournament, knowing upfront that other countries are much stronger, is a development campaign. We are focused on developing each player and the team, which is young, but we want them to have the experience”.

Marie Zidek, Head Coach of the United States: “This is the U.S. first time we’re competing in this tournament, we needed to get organized. We are very excited to be here; it’s a great opportunity for our players to continue to perform in high-level competitions against many countries that play a strong game. This is a difficult age group, some players are in university, some are transitioning first year Pro, but we are excited about the potential to compete and more players developing in the pipeline is our goal. We will focus on bringing a strong game for ourselves, trying to produce as many points as possible and then we will have to adapt to the teams we face”.