USA Volleyball announced today they are creating a new program called USA Volleyball National Team Development Program (NTDP). This new program will replace the USA Volleyball High Performance program that has been popular with club volleyball players since the 1990s.
Inferno VBC strongly encourages all of it's members to participate in these development programs when appropriate. The opportunities offered under this new program will help improve the athlete's overall skill while getting training and exposure from some of the best coaches in the US.
The goal of this new program (NTDP) is to increase the opportunities for athletes to be seen and evaluated and to develop within the USAV National Team system.
Unlike the High Performance program, the NTDP will not have tryouts. Instead NTDP athletes will be selected to NTDP training and competition via a nationwide scouting network. Scouts from around the country will be selected to identify athletes at qualifiers, bid events and high school/club tournaments across the United States. USA Volleyball has said that tryouts are not particularly good method for evaluating talent. They want to see more players more often and hope this new methodology will accomplish this.
Age-group categories will begin with boys under-16 and the oldest age groups being under-21. Athletes may participate in the NTD Training Series (best vs best) held quarterly at locations across the country. A new series of local events called NTD Accelerators (clubs can nominate exceptional players) will offer athletes the chance to train against top competition in their area. USAPlay Camps and Pop-ups will be offered for the younger age groups focusing on athlete development.
On Jan. 6, 7 and 8, USA Volleyball will host open town-hall meetings to provide details and answer questions about the program. Registration for these events will be available soon.
For more information from USA Volleyball, what the video they released today explaining this new program: https://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/video