National Team Development Program

The National Team Development Program (NTDP) mission is to identify, recruit and accelerate the development of high-potential junior volleyball athletes for the purpose of achieving sustained international competitive excellence.

The NTDP is based on a continuous, long-term athlete development framework which holds the athlete at the center. The program emphasizes the health, well-being, and well-rounded development of each individual athlete, and thus is a fluid system.

Indoor, beach and sitting volleyball players have increased opportunities to train and compete with and against the best athletes from across the country in a national team training environment.

The NTDP is meant to be a fluid system.

There will be athletes who are invited to all programming, and there will be athletes who are invited to one or two training programs. This happens because athletes develop and mature at different rates. Identification and evaluation methods will remain continuous throughout programming, and the pool of athletes will continue to develop based on feedback from our NTDP Scouting Network.  

We understand that athletes may not be able to participate in all programs to which they are invited, with reasons including injuries or burnout.

Unfortunately, injuries do happen in youth/junior sport and this is one reason we strive to remain diligent in our fluid approach to talent identification.

If an athlete is feeling burned out, it’s important that they communicate that with their family and do not feel any pressure to attend NTDP programs and events. The well-being of our athletes is our top priority. 

The USAV National Team Development Program currently runs three types of programs: Age-Group National Teams, NTDP Training Series, and NTDP Accelerators. 

For Age-Group National Teams, the National Team Development Program focuses on supporting athletes who are a part of teams that are preparing for international competition.  

The National Team Development Program Training Series includes a series of quarterly training programs for the highest-potential young athletes that are identified and selected by our NTDP Scouting Network. One of the key principles in athlete development and the NTDP is having the best athletes train with and against the best. The NTDP Training Series will support that concept with training programs located throughout the country four times a year. Through participation in the NTDP, athletes will receive feedback and online learning opportunities to help support athlete growth both on and off the court in a healthy and holistic way. These training programs will be age-appropriate and aligned with the expectations of our Senior National Team coaching and performance staff.  

The NTDP Accelerators will provide opportunities for clubs and regional high-performance programs to nominate promising players to receive an invitation to regionalized best vs. best training sessions. These sessions will be organized by the USAV NTDP and run in a manner similar to competitive sessions within the NTDP Training Series. Accelerators provide opportunities for “next level” athletes to play with and be challenged against the best athletes in a more localized setting. 

The USA Volleyball National Team Development Program (NTDP) has enlisted some of the most highly respected volleyball coaches and experts in the United States to be a part of its NTDP Scouting Network.

Athletes are selected to NTDP training and competition events via this nationwide scouting network. The NTDP Scouting Network serves as the heartbeat of the NTDP talent identification process for age-group national teams as well as the NTDP Training Series.

Our scouts are responsible for seeking out and identifying athletes at boys and girls qualifiers, and high school/club tournaments across the United States. This is a comprehensive and coordinated effort focused on finding the highest potential youth volleyball athletes in the country.

For boys, athletes will begin being selected in the U16 age group, while for girls, this selection will begin at the U15 age group.

For indoor athletes, be sure to keep your free University Athlete profile updated throughout the year; University Athlete will be the primary tool for our Indoor Scouting Network to recommend athletes for Indoor NTDP consideration.

For beach athletes, be sure you are playing as much as possible throughout the country and upload your most recent film to video platforms. It’s our goal to have an online platform for our Scouting Network in the near future.

Athletes who are selected and invited to NTDP training programs can be chosen for any one of the age-group national teams and/or continue to be invited to NTDP Training Series. These programs take place throughout the year and provide more opportunities for athletes to train and compete with the best.

We recognize that athletes are already training and developing within their school and club programs. Some will also pay to attend camps that may offer some positive development experiences as well. Our programs do not change that.

However, the NTDP Training Series and NTDP Accelerators provide more focused and stronger “best with best” training opportunities than USA Volleyball has held in the past. This helps provide unique challenges for athletes to test themselves against others that are competing at their level, which is optimal for development.

What about levels beneath this?
Nothing is different. Athletes will still play in their school and club programs. They will still choose to attend camps. Those who are inspired, put in the work and aspire to improve their game will have opportunities to be seen by our NTDP Scouting Network (simply by playing in tournaments) and to be nominated by their local clubs or regions to attend NTDP Accelerators.

Some of those athletes may advance from one level to the next. However, and more importantly, NONE will be excluded from earning opportunities to be seen or nominated.

With the NTDP aligning with the philosophies, methodologies and culture of our senior national teams, our age groups are structured to reflect FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) age groups.

For boys, athletes will begin being selected in the U16 age group, while for girls, this selection will begin in the U15 age group. Please see the below chart for 2023 Age Groups.

With the National Team Development Program, athletes will only be selected after reaching puberty.

Research on growth, maturation and the Relative Age Effect, indicates that athletes who are “early maturers” in terms of biological age (physical growth and maturation) are disproportionately selected when compared to athletes who are “late maturers.”

With this in mind, the NTDP will delay selection of athletes until later in their biological development.