COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 23, 2016) – The U.S. Boys Youth National Team begins play in the NORCECA Boys Under-19 Continental Championship on Friday in Havana, Cuba.

The team will open pool play against Nicaragua on Friday, then will move on to play Costa Rica on Saturday and Dominican Republic on Sunday.

The top finishers will qualify for the 2017 FIVB Boys U19 World Championship.

The team started at 24 and was culled to 12, although the four alternate players kept training with the team in Southern California.

Several players will forego competing with their club teams at the BoysJunior National Championships in Dallas in order to compete for the United States.

Head Coach Shweisky, who is also Princeton’s men’s volleyball coach, will serve alongside UCLA assistant men’s coach Brad Keller, who will be the BYNT’s associate head coach. Theo Edwards, the assistant men’s coach at Cal State Northridge, will be an assistant for Shweisky and Keller. Kevin Burch, an assistant coach at Ohio State, will serve as technical coordinator.

The United States is the defending champion of the NORCECA Boys U19 Continental Championship.