Three U17 girls’ teams will compete at the IV South American Youth Games Panama 2026 next month and Venezuela head coach Larry Hernandez is targeting the gold medal as his team goes up against two of the region’s powerhouses in Brazil and Panama.
Venezuela will open against Brazil on Friday, April 17, and will close out that first day of competition against the host nation at 6pm. The teams meet again the following day to complete a double round robin with the winner advancing to the final and the second and third placed teams clashing again for the right to join them.
“My expectations as the coach of the youth national team for these games are to reach the final and compete for the gold,” said Hernandez, whose team is training five times per week in preparation. “We are focusing on physical work, power and strength, technical and theoretical work. The athletes are committed to this team.”
Hernandez has 26 years’ experience of playing flag football and began coaching 20 years ago with junior and women’s teams and dedicated himself to training all the players in the Venezuelan league who were starting in the world of flag football.
“I trained with Coach Julio Ocaña in Mexico, and there I began to train the adult men's and women's national teams,” he explained. “Then I lived in Chile for five years and was the coach of two women's teams, and there I became certified as a sports coach in the Chilean Olympic Committee.”
Having a small youth set up in Venezuela, recruiting for a U17 team presented a challenge and the 12-player roster that will play at the Emilio Royo Stadium in Panama City consists of six players from Venezuela and six who are based in Panama.
“We have good athletes on the team but perhaps the ones I consider could stand out most in these games would be Carlota Rodríguez, Arantxa Sánchez, Andrea Levanti, and Arantza Pinzon,” said Hernandez when asked which players might emerge as stars of the tournament. Ultimately, the youngsters playing in this tournament could be some of the future stars of the Olympic Games.
“I am very excited that our sport has reached Olympic status,” added Hernandez. “It is a commitment from all countries to improve the level of their athletes, I hope to see a great show at the next Olympic Games and I hope more and more countries can attend.”
Five boys and three girls U17 teams representing five International Federation of American Football (IFAF) member federations will compete in the first-ever flag football tournament at the IV South American Youth Games Panama 2026 from April 17 to 19. Venezuela is joined in Panama City by Argentina, Brazil, Panama and Uruguay.
