Crossing Countries to Crossing Courts at BJNC

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (June 30, 2011) – Teams have driven through city borders traveled past state lines, flown over country boundaries and jet-set above bodies of water to compete at the 2011 USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships (BJNC) being held June 29 to July 6 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

“This is a great experience for all of us and we will travel to wherever we need to,” Adyan Benites, a member of the Puerto Rican-based Criollos 15U club team said. “It’s fun to travel outside of Puerto Rico to see all of the different cultures and to show-off ours.” 

The Criollos 15U club team traveled over 2,000 miles for a chance to win the gold at the BJNC.  The team stood in the entrance of the Minneapolis Convention Center waving their Puerto Rican flags and taking pictures in front of the red, white and blue USA Volleyball banners. Their excitement wasn’t from winning a point, set or match, it was simply from walking into the center for the first time since they touched down in Minnesota.    

The team is one of 32 Puerto Rican teams that crossed the Gulf of Mexico to compete at the BJNC, and many of them are making their second appearance at the tournament. Nine of the 10 players on the Criollos 15U competed in the 2010 edition of the BJNC, when they placed fourth with a 9-2 record in the 14 Club division.

Photo: Copyrighted by USAV/Becky Murdy Jose Sosa of the Gigantes 14 team had his hair done in Puerto Rico before heading to Minneapolis.  In addition to the Puerto Rican teams, three Canadian and two teams from Guam made the trip to compete on USA Volleyball’s Sport Court. The Guam teams racked up the most flying miles, averaging 15 hours and 7,056 miles. No matter how long they traveled or how far away they are from home, all of the teams are excited to be under the convention-center lights at the same time.

“Sharing experiences with people at the tournament is a lot of fun,” Criollos 15U player (would be nice if position could replace the word player or member) Evaristo Lopez said. “We get to see things that aren’t normal to us. Even when we just walk down the street people will be playing violin or singing.”

Even if the music, language or jersey are not the same from teams across the map, their love for volleyball continues to stay consistent, enhancing the popularity for boys’ volleyball on a global scale.

“We love volleyball in Puerto Rico,” Benites said. “It is a fun and active sport, and we love the atmosphere that comes with it. Playing here we get to share that excitement with people that don’t get to see it as much.”

The 15 Club division will initiate play on Friday and continues until the medal matches on July 4. 15U will compete in its first day of round-robin pool play with three matches beginning at 3 p.m.

Though the Criollos boys are enjoying the site-seeing and new surroundings, they are not diverging their attention to anything away from winning.

“My favorite part is going to be to win with my team,” Victor Fernandez said. “When we play, we get pumped up and get excited by dancing, jumping and yelling.”

The BJNC brings the highest level of boys’ volleyball under one roof. Teams that have traveled 10 miles to those from Guam that have traveled over 7,000 miles are aware that their play must be at the highest if they want to finish on top of the podium.  

“We have to bring the intensity level up when we come to this tournament,” Lopez said. “It’s the best competition that we face and we have to make sure we focus and play our best, because we are representing Puerto Rico.”

For up-to-date results and upcoming schedules for the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior national Championships, click here. For more information on the tournament, visit http://usavolleyball.org/events/4872.

All 14-18 division medal matches will be video streamed live at http://usavolleyball.org/live. The first medal match will take place Friday, July 1, with the 12-club teams. 

Visit www.usavolleyball.org and become a fan of USA Volleyball's Facebook page for all the latest news. Fans are encouraged to share their family-friendly pictures on the USA Volleyball Facebook page.

2011 USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships Results
12 Club: Finals on July 1
13 Club: Finals on July 2
14 Open: Finals on July 3
14 Club: Finals on July 3
15 Open: Finals on July 4
15 Club: Finals on July 4
16 Open: Finals on July 5
16 Club: Finals on July 5
17 Open: Finals on July 6
17 Club: Finals on July 6
18 Open: Finals on July 2
18 Club: Finals on July 2

Tags: 2011 Boys' Junior National Championships, USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships