Volleyball boss to coach women's team for NORCECA Final Four

TRINIDAD and Tobago Volleyball Federation (TTVF) president Daymian Stewart will fill in as head coach for the national women’s team when they compete at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Final Four Women’s tournament from July 18-20 in Manati, Puerto Rico.

The team’s designated coach Deon Hutchinson, who was battling a fever during the CAZOVA Under-23 Championships, which concluded at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Arena on July 13, will not be with the team as he gets some “well-deserved rest.” TT’s under-23 men’s team won CAZOVA gold in a thrilling 3-2 final result over Suriname, with the TT women placing third.

Led by Stewart, nine members of TT’s 12-member squad departed for Puerto Rico on July 15. Two players were expected to arrive in Puerto Rico on July 18 after receiving their visas on July 16.

Due to visa complications experienced by the Cuban team, TT accepted an invitation as the replacement team to join Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Puerto Ricans have won the last two editions of the tournament and will be looking to make it a hat-trick of titles this year in the fifth staging. TT finished third in the 2023 edition of the tournament. This year’s winner will gain automatic qualification to the 2026 Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League competition.

TT will begin their Final Four campaign with a matchup against Mexico from 6 pm on July 18, before playing Puerto Rico (July 19) and Costa Rica (July 20).

With the Pan American Cup in Mexico (August 1-11) and the CAZOVA Senior Championships in the Bahamas (August 14-23) on the horizon, Hutchinson told Newsday he needed to give himself a chance to recuperate ahead of these crucial tournaments after struggling with the flu for the past two weeks.

“I have been coaching the women’s teams non-stop for four months, seven days a week. It was taking a toll on my body,” Hutchinson said. “I needed a well-deserved rest.”

Hutchinson said the team’s players know their positions and roles within the setup and he believes the team is in capable hands with Stewart and assistant coach LaTeisha Joseph.

He said the Final Four tourney is a stepping-stone towards the two competitions in August. The TTVF president shared those sentiments.

“For us, this is just part of our preparation for the bigger goal, which is the Caribbean championships. We’re here with some new players who are at this level for the first time,” Stewart said.

“It’s a big deal...it’s (a chance to get) important world ranking points. And we’re not fooling ourselves. The world ranking expects us to come fourth and there’s a lot to get from our participation here in terms of developing our athletes and getting that practice at a higher level so when we come back to our zonal tournament that we can dominate.”

The TT team will be led by captain Kaylon Cruichshank.

“We’re very realistic about what we’re trying to achieve here. We’re gracious for the opportunity,” Stewart said. “The senior team is beginning to assemble. We have other players home who are unavailable and we hope they could join the preparation process. But remember, the goal is to get gold in the Bahamas...and that victory will not start in that tournament but in the preparation and pre-tournament activities we have.”

TT women’s volleyball team for NORCECA Final Four:

Kaylon Cruickshank (captain), Johanna Belmar, Cheyenne Chin Choy, Alyssa Hutchinson, Kayla Hutchinson, Malika Davidson, Destiny Leon, Delicia Pierre, Kristianna Richards, Ruth St Louis, Sadie Torkar.

Team management:

Daymian Stewart (coach), LaTeisha Joseph (assistant coach), Maxine Stafford (manager), Coreen Andrews (physio).