With support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, Allanis Navas and Maria Gonzalez will be looking to add a historic appearance at the Olympic Games to their cap this year
Coach Angel Peña has identified the NORCECA Continental Cup scheduled for June in Mexico as their sure route to the Olympic Games, with the winner guaranteed a ticket to Paris
Navas and Gonzalez won silver medal at the first stop of the 2024 NORCECA beach volleyball Tour
After making their first appearance at the FIVB World Championships in 2023, Puerto Rico’s women’s beach volleyball team pair of Allanis Navas and Maria Gonzalez will be looking to add a historic appearance at the Olympic Games to their cap this year.
With the trailblazing duo of Navas and Gonzalez facing the world’s best at the FIVB World Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico, they were only further galvanised to achieve their dream of featuring in the biggest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games, this year.
Supporting the duos development is Angel Peña. Peña has taken charge of Puerto Rico’s women’s beach volleyball team thanks to an investment of CHF 72,000 in coach support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme. Peña is no stranger to Navas and Gonzalez, having worked with them from youth categories.
Puerto Rico’s Maria Gonzalez in action against Switzerland at the 2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships held in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
“I know them so well having worked with them from as young as 12 years. I have seen them develop from a young age and I’m confident now that I have more time to work with them, we can make history together by qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time,” Peña told FIVB.com.
“The Volleyball Empowerment support is a game changer for us. It has made a big difference because I can now focus on this team 24/7. We are now training consistently and having three sessions a day for six days a week. Before we could only have one session per day for five days in a week,” noted Peña.
Peña has identified the NORCECA Continental Cup scheduled for June in Mexico as their sure route to the Olympic Games, with the winner guaranteed a ticket to Paris. Providing them with added confidence going into this competition will be the silver medal that the pair recently won at the first stop of the 2024 NORCECA beach volleyball Tour held at the Güibia beach in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April.
In addition to competitions, the duo are also scheduled to attend training camps in both Brazil and Puerto Rico as well as four Challenge events in the Beach Pro Tour. Namely Recife, Saquarema, Guadalajara and Stare Jablonki. There is also another stop on the NORCECA Tour in Cuba as well as a Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 event in Tepic, Mexico lined up.
“We have made our programme in such a way that we will have one week after each tournament to regroup and work on our mistakes. These competitions will help us to gauge the duos performance against high-level opponents, work on their mental strength and see how they adapt to different playing styles.” asserted Peña.
Puerto Rico’s Maria Gonzalez (right) in action against Canada at the 2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships held in Tlaxcala, Mexico
“We want to build on this experience and ensure the players are well prepared for the Continental Cup where we expect stiff competition from Mexico, Cuba and Canada. However, the players are showing great improvement and I’m confident that come June they will have matured and stand a good chance of qualifying (for the Olympic Games),” Peña added.
For both Navas and Gonzalez, qualifying for Paris 2024 will be the perfect birthday gift (they both turn 22 this year), since they graduated to the senior category having featured in the Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.
