Eugenio George Lafita Explained

Eugenio George Lafita
Fullname:Rafael Eugenio George Lafita
Nickname:Volleyball guru
Birth Date:29 March 1933
Birth Place:Baracoa, Republic of Cuba
Death Place:Havana, Cuba
Occupation:Volleyball coach
Medaltemplates-Title:Medal record

Eugenio George Lafita (29 March 1933  - 1 June 2014), also known as Eugenio George, was a Cuban volleyball coach. Nicknamed "Volleyball guru",[1] George led the Cuban women's team to gold medals in the Olympics in 1992, 1996, and 2000.[2] In 2000, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) named him the Best Women's Volleyball Team Coach of the Twentieth Century.[3] [4] In 2005, he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.[5]

Early life

George was born on 29 March 1933, in Baracoa, Cuba.[6] He began playing volleyball in 1947 at the Pepe Barrientos Gymnasium in the Luyano neighborhood in Havana. He played on the Cuban national volleyball team for a few years, and participated in the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games.

Coaching

Cuban men's national team

George's coaching career began in 1963 with the Cuban men's junior team. He built up the foundation of the Cuban men's volleyball team that took the gold medal at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[7]

Cuban women's national team

In 1968, George took charge of the Cuban women's national volleyball team.[8] Under the management of George, the Cubans clinched titles at the FIVB World Championship in the Soviet Union (1978), Brazil (1994) and Japan (1998); the FIVB World Cup in Japan (1989, 1991, 1995 and 1999); and the FIVB World Grand Prix in Quezon City, Philippines (1993) and Hong Kong, China (2000). Most notably, he led the Cuban national team to three straight gold medal wins at the Olympics from 1992 to 2000, establishing the Cuban team as the most dominant team of the 1990s. Though he was removed as head coach shortly after the 1996 Olympics, he remained involved with the team as an assistant coach up to the 2008 Olympics.[9]

NORCECA

George was the president of the NORCECA Technical and Coaches Commission, and was a member of the FIVB Coaches Commission.

In 2009, the NORCECA Congress in Antigua, Guatemala established the "Eugenio George Lafita Trophy" to the Most Outstanding Coach of the biennial Women's Continental Championship.[10]

Personal life

For more than 40 years, George was married to Graciela González until her death in 2007.[11]

Death

George died in Havana on June 1, 2014, at the age of 81, after a fight with cancer.[12]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eugenio George Lafita, the Volleyball guru, still fighting for the gold . . 18 August 2008 . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210114105302/http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/Olympics/2008/Women/Press/viewnews.asp?No=18008 . January 14, 2021 . live .
  2. Web site: Cubans pay homage to Eugenio George . March 14, 2014 . . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140604003453/https://norceca.net/Cubans%20pay%20homage%20to%20Eugenio%20George.htm . June 4, 2014 . live .
  3. Web site: Best Volleyball Teams — Which are the Best Teams Ever? . Volleyballadvisors.com . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528170528/http://www.volleyballadvisors.com/volleyball-teams.html . May 28, 2023 . live .
  4. Web site: 'The Spectacular Caribbean Girls': Cuba's three volleyball golds in a row . Olympics.com . 19 January 2021 . August 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230819053038/https://olympics.com/en/news/the-spectacular-caribbean-girls-cubas-three-volleyball-golds-in-a-row . August 19, 2023 . live .
  5. Web site: Eugenio George . . August 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605073049/https://www.volleyhall.org/eugenio-george.html . June 5, 2023 . live .
  6. Web site: Eugenio George Lafita, Cuba . . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140822123838/http://www.volleyhall.org/ind2005_george.html . August 22, 2014 . dead .
  7. Web site: Volleyball mourns passing of coaching legend . . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140607115323/http://www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=46039&Language=en#.U5L9Pb3P32c . June 7, 2014 . dead .
  8. Web site: Legendary Cuban volleyball coach passes away . June 21, 2014 . Amateursport.wordpress.com . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210202051526/https://amateursport.wordpress.com/2014/06/21/legendary-cuban-volleyball-coach-passes-away/ . February 2, 2021 . live .
  9. News: Mireya Luis’ great jump . Oncubanews.com . Coll Untoria . Jorge Luis . April 24, 2023 . September 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230504190457/https://oncubanews.com/en/sports/mireya-luis-great-jump/ . May 4, 2023 . live .
  10. Web site: RIP Coach Eugenio George . June 3, 2014 . Volleywood.net . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140806203309/http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-features/rip-volleyball-features/rip-coach-eugenio-george/ . August 6, 2014 . live .
  11. Web site: Ms. Graciela González, wife of Eugenio George, passed away in Cuba . February 2, 2007 . NORCECA . https://web.archive.org/web/20070202224846/http://www.norceca.org/endex.htm . February 2, 2007 . dead .
  12. News: Eugenio George, heart of the Cuban school volleyball, died . June 1, 2014 . Oncubanews.com . August 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230819121037/https://oncubanews.com/en/sports/eugenio-george-heart-of-the-cuban-school-volleyball-died/ . August 19, 2023 . live .

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