NTDP Mission and Staff
The mission of the National Team Development Program (NTDP) is to identify, recruit and accelerate the development of high potential junior volleyball players for the ultimate purpose of strengthening our national team programs to achieve sustained competitive excellence.
Staff
Peter Vint, Chief of Sport
Kris Berzins, Director, Indoor NTDP
Donovan Martinez, Boys Indoor Lead
Kevin Moore, Indoor Manager
Brandon Oswald, Boys Indoor Lead
Alex Purvey, Girls Indoor Lead
Courtney Smith, Girls Indoor Manager
Mallory Burbage, Operations Assistant
Carolina Garbato, Director, Beach NTDP
Judit Kolada, Lead, Beach NTDP
Chelsea Tupuola, Lead, Beach NTDP
Joviana Romero, Coordinator, Beach NTDP Operations
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Timeline
Athletes are identified and selected via our NTDP Scouting Network, which was established in 2021.
The NTDP team aims to contact and invite identified athletes leading up to each NTDP Training Series within a timely manner. We strive to notify athletes of their selection and invitation one to two months in advance of each training series.
USA Volleyball Membership
It is the goal of the NTDP to identify, recruit and develop the best athletes throughout the country.
We understand that athletes can come from anywhere, and we will continue to work with our Scouting Network to cover USA Volleyball, AAU and JVA landscapes to ensure that we are identifying athletes regardless of their clubs’ affiliation.
Once selected to the NTDP, athletes will register as USA Volleyball members to be eligible to train and compete as a USA Volleyball athlete.
Program Locations
Through our NTDP Training Series, we will host beach and indoor programs that will be located throughout the country in an effort to reach as many of our athletes as possible. Beach will host events quarterly while indoor will have training series programs three times a year.
It is through our NTDP Accelerator Program that we will aim to focus on more regionalized training opportunities. By working in conjunction with USA Volleyball regions, our goal is to provide athletes with more regionalized training programs.
Specific locations and dates for the NTDP calendar may be viewed on the USA Volleyball calendar or on the Training Series web pages (indoor/beach). We will update location information on our website as soon as we are able.
Hawaii and Alaska are part of the Pacific Zone, and we will be looking for the best locations with dense athlete populations within each zone to run our NTDP Training Series and Accelerators.
We understand that Hawaii and Alaska present a unique challenge for some athletes if programs are not held in their state. We are prepared to work with our athletes on an individual basis if they aren’t able to make it to a given Training Series. It will not be required that athletes attend all programs to which they are selected.
Athlete Evaluation
Under the National Team Development Program, our Scouting Network serves as the source of the NTDP talent identification process for age-group national teams and the NTDP Training Series. The Scouting Network includes more than 100 coaches and experts from across the United States, covering many of the USA Volleyball regions.
Athletes are identified and evaluated by our Scouting Network in addition to receiving recommendations and feedback by NTDP Training Series coaching staff.
Scouts and coaches use a framework that revolves around two main elements: Level and Potential/Performance. These elements play an integral role in the development of discipline- and gender-specific evaluation framework.
Evaluation is constant through the identification process within our NTDP Scouting Network.
NTDP Training Series
Once identified, top youth athletes are invited by USA Volleyball to attend one or more of our National Team Development Program Training Series. The NTDP Training Series (indoor/beach ) provides opportunities for the best young athletes to be challenged and to learn about the tactical, technical, physical and mental aspects our national team coaches are looking for in our senior national team athletes.
These are exceptional development experiences: best with best and best against best under the guidance of our country’s top youth coaches. Participation in the NTDP Training Series provides evaluation, feedback and individual development plans that are accompanied by online learning experiences to support athletes in a healthy and holistic way. Everything is age-appropriate and aligned with the expectations of our senior national team coaching and performance staff.
We know we can’t bring in every athlete who might have potential at once. We know our scouting network may not see everyone who might someday develop into one of our senior national team players. So, we’ve designed layers of evaluation and opportunity. Beyond the NTDP Training Series are NTDP Accelerators.
It’s not required for selected athletes to attend all training programs. We understand that our athletes are busy, and the academic and sport calendar may fill up quickly. We work individually with selected athletes to create a pathway that works for them to allow for the best development possible.
We do our best to ensure that NTDP Training Series events for indoor and beach do not overlap. With more programs happening throughout the year, athletes that participate in beach and indoor have more opportunities to compete in both disciplines. For example, a selected athlete could attend a summer Beach NTDP Training Series and a fall Indoor NTDP Training Series.
We value multi-discipline athletes and align our programs to allow for as much flexible participation as possible.
NTDP Accelerators
NTDP Accelerators provide more opportunities for clubs and regions nominate promising players to receive an invitation to regionalized best vs. best training sessions in conjunction with USA Volleyball regions.
These sessions are organized by USA Volleyball and run in a manner similar to competitive sessions within the NTDP Training Series. The purpose is to provide opportunities for ‘next level” athletes to compete with and be challenged against the best athletes in a more regionalized setting.
Education
Yes, the National Team Development Academy is available free for all USA Volleyball members.
The NTDP Academy has content for athletes, coaches and parents taught directly by National Team athletes, staff and support staff.
The NTDP Academy serves as an educational bridge for athletes who are selected for our national teams and the NTDP Training Series.
Age-Group National Teams
Rosters for the NTDP Indoor Age-Group National Teams are determined in close collaboration with our NTDP Scouting Network and age-group national team staff.
The nationwide NTDP Scouting Network consists of collegiate coaches who are experienced in identifying talent.
Rosters for the NTDP Beach Age-Group National Teams are determined in two ways: trials and athlete selection.
The Beach National Team Development Program holds trials for each beach age-group national team that will be competing in that specific year. The top-finishing team at those respective trials will earn their spot on the respective age-group national team.
The NTDP, in close collaboration with the NTDP Scouting Network and national team staff, selects four alternates to complete the respective age-group national team rosters. Athletes will be eligible to be selected given they have attended a beach NTDP Training Series throughout that season.
Talent Identification
The National Team Development Program has enlisted the top volleyball coaches and experts throughout the United States to be part of our NTDP Scouting Network.
Our Scouting Network serves as the talent identification process for age-group national teams and the NTDP Training Series. Scouting is a continuous and fluid effort of the network. The Scouting Network identifies athletes at various events throughout the country and through practices, video and more. Scouts are not limited to certain events and use four zones to create efficiency within the Scouting Network.
The National Team Development Program does not host tryouts for talent identification.
For indoor, the NTDP Scouting Network primarily communicates with the NTDP staff through University Athlete. The majority of athletes are represented here whether they have created an account or not; however, we do encourage athletes to fill out their free profile.
An athlete profile database for the beach NTDP is currently being developed that our Scouting Network will utilize to assist them in athlete identification. Through that database, athletes will have the opportunity to update their profiles, as well.
Meanwhile, we recommend athletes compete as much as possible and upload film through various platforms. When uploading film, we recommend athletes include their name, class, birth year, and email.
Absolutely. It’s a requirement for all our National Team Development Program hired workers to have a USAV membership, pass a background screen and be SafeSport certified.