Born in Havana, Cuba, Francisco Cruz (fondly known as "Panchy") has become a respected personality in local sport. His career in volleyball started in 1967 as an instructor, coaching different categories and demographics. In 2005 he was sent by the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) to Trinidad and Tobago to further develop the sport of volleyball.
"Panchy" is currently the Technical Director and head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Women’s National Team, in which he has been influential in improving their international ranking from the 93rd to the 38th position.
Coach Cruz holds a Level III Volleyball Coach Certificate issued by the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB). He is qualified to coach high level teams and develop national coaching programmes and has been a significant component in the development of volleyball in Trinidad and Tobago.
Prof. Francisco Cruz Jiménez brings a lot of experience into the coaching circle for team TTO. He has coached in the Dominican Republic Women’s Volleyball Program as a coach and instructor, as the head coach (2003), in Cuba and Peru and acted as the Director of the Dominican Republic High Performance Volleyball Development Center, was part of the coaching staff of the Cuban men’s youth Volleyball team from 1971-1975.
In 1977 he became the Instructor at the University of Physical Culture and Sports of Cuba leading more than 170 National and International Volleyball Technicians from Syria, Ghana, Panama, Peru, Sir Lanka, etc.
In 1995 Jiménez helped with the preparation of the Women’s Youth Volleyball team of Peru and since 2001 he has been a part of the Dominican Republic Women’s Youth & Junior Programs, participating in several international events as head coach, including; the 2001 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship (9th place), the 2001 FIVB Girl’s Youth World Championship (8th place), the 2002 NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship (4th Place), the 2002 NORCECA Girls Youth Continental Championship (Silver Medal) and the 2004 NORCECA Junior Continental Championship (Silver Medal).