UTT's Francisco Cruz Jimenez takes T&T Women's Senior Volleyball Team to World Cup

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UTT's Francisco Cruz Jimenez takes T&T Women's Senior Volleyball Team to World Cup

Oct 31, 2017 | Views:209539 |

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PLEASED COACH CRUZ WITH T & T SENIOR WOMEN’S NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TEAM IN CELEBRATION PIC ON THE ROAD TO JAPAN!

The Volleyball programme within The UTT Academy of Sports is worth its weight in gold. The results have proven that the person whose brain child this was to create an Academy of Sports was a brilliant one, and if it can work for volleyball, it can work for any sport with the right vision and the same goal. The programme allowed for a coach to live his dream and create a world class team through hard work, dedication, determination, honesty and a good spirit of discernment, plus the sheer joy of enjoying his job with little or no equipment or staff. He is on time every time, always one hour before his first player arrives, sometimes asleep, but he’s there.

The arrival of Francisco Cruz Jimenez better known in the volleyball fraternity as “Panchy” , Cuban resident in Peru, to the landscape of Trinidad and Tobago has not only been good for our ladies’ senior team, but for all our teams, both male and female at youth, junior and senior levels. He is living proof that competition is healthy. Additionally, the performance of our team has lifted the bar within the entire region. The Caribbean Volleyball Championship (CVC) is no longer “ah lime” for volleyballers, they come with purpose, a new vision for the sport and a more competitive spirit, with the hope of beating Trinidad and Tobago. The year 2013 brought The T&T Senior Women’s Volleyball Team from 93^rd to 29^th in world rankings. In 2014, T&T made history by being the first English speaking Caribbean country to be at qualifying status for World Championship, then again in 2017 as qualifiers for World Grand Prix, and now, after knocking at the door for 10 long years the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Women’s Volleyball Team, currently ranked 34^th in the world has qualified for Volleyball World Championship 2018, hosted in Japan.

Coach Cruz has guided his team with pride and precision and in 10 years a total of eight of his players were presented with opportunities to go pro. Today five of those: Krystle Esdelle, Channon Thompson, Darlene Ramdin, Sinead Jack and Renelle Forde have been added to the list of ladies who ply their trade on lucrative contracts in different parts of the world, while Courtnee-mae Clifford is pursuing her MBA on a volleyball scholarship at CBU in Tennessee, and is assistant coach of the University’s team. Others have become wives, mothers, P.E. teachers, but they all still come to the games to participate in national league or cheer on. Coach Cruz is not only preparing our young ladies to play volleyball but for life.

TRACK RECORD..….of TNT SENIOR VB Women’s Volleyball Team led by PANCHY

UTT ACHIEVMENTS

2006- 2014 1^st place in National League

2015 2^nd place in National league

2007,2008,2012,2013 1^st place in CARIBBEAN VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE

2013 PHOTO BELOW SHOWS UTT‘s winning team at last CVL HELD.

NATIONAL TEAM ACHIEVEMENTS with UTT Players being KEY PLAYERS @ CARIBBEAN VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP(CVC)

1996- First GOLD ST CROIX BY TNT

2006- CRUZ appointed as HEAD COACH of TNT WOMEN’S VB TEAM by TTVF

2006-Bahamas..2007 -CRUZ is afforded the opportunity to coach UTT VOLLEYBALL TEAM in tandem with his national duties and a beautiful marriage it made.

2008-Barbados ….2010-Suriname….2012-St Croix….2014-Trinidad

2017- JAMAICA (none was held in 2016)

AWARDS CVC 2017 JAMAICA

UTT PLAYER KRYSTELLE ESDELLE # 16 BEST OPPOSITE

UTT PLAYER CHANNON THOMPSON # 3 BEST SERVER and MVP