Coaches ready for CAZOVA World Qualifiers in Haiti

PETION-VILLE, Haiti,  JULY 8, 2016- The coaches of host country Haiti, Curacao, Cayman Islands and US Virgin Islands all expressed an eager to serve off their campaigns in the new qualification process to the 2017 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championships to be held in Trinidad and Tobago.

Looking ahead to their round-robin series, the four coaches expressed optimism and hope for a good showing from their respective teams.

Melissa Schjang-Simmons (US Virgin Islands) was quick to point out that she has a very young team, but one which is very high on energy, with a lot of expectations to do well.

“The group is very focus and excited, even though our preparations was hampered by not having the full team together. You have to remember, US Virgin Islands is comprised of four different islands, so that is a problem we will tend to face a lot.”

Mark Ray (Cayman Islands) quickly pointed out that his team was not at full numbers because a lot of the players had previous commitments.

 “We may not be at full strength as the other teams or have much youth, but we have a lot of experience within our group and we are here to give a good showing of ourselves. Our preparation was not as good as we would have liked, but as coach of the team I believe we can still show great team spirit and consistency, which is important in tournaments like these.”

Patricio Bridgewater (Curacao) warned that while he had little information on the teams he would be facing over the two days of competition his team was primed to do well.

“Our preparation began in February, while he finalized the team in March and have been working towards this qualifying series since. We don’t really know what to expect from our opponents, but at the same time we are well motivated, highly spirited, well organized and have very strong team chemistry and looking to do a good job.”

Yves Larrieux (Haiti) boasted that his Haitian team which is hosting a qualification group of any kind under CAZOVA or NORCECA for the first time at any age-group was ready to perform in front its home crowd.

“We have been well prepared mentally, physically and tactically and we have been working very hard over the past few weeks, sometimes twice per day to make sure we are ready. The guys are in very good shape and I think we have a very good chance to qualify to the next step.”