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Contacts

Peter Vint, Chief of Sport
Kris Berzins, Senior Manager of Indoor NTDP
Carolina Garbato, Senior Manager of Beach NTDP
Kevin Moore, Manager, Indoor NTDP
Lauren Walker, Manager, Athlete Development
Donovan Martinez, Boys Indoor NTDP Lead
Courtney Smith, Girls Indoor NTDP Lead
Cody Liner, Coordinator and Communications Lead, Beach NTDP
Alexandra Purvey, Operations Assistant

Best with Best

In 2021, USA Volleyball launched the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Under NTDP, young volleyball athletes who aspire to take the next step on their path to the podium have the opportunity to be identified, develop, and be evaluated within a high-level training environment within the USA Volleyball National Team system.

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.

“As we near completion of our first full year with the National Team Development Program, we’ve made significant progress toward our vision of providing more and better opportunities to identify and help develop the best young players in the country,” Chief of Sport Dr. Peter Vint said. “Across boys and girls indoor and beach volleyball, our National Scouting Network comprises more than 100 top collegiate coaches, current and former national team coaches and athletes, and other experts who are close to the game. The results of this collaborative approach have provided a tenfold increase in the number of athletes who are seen and can be recommended for our NTDP Training Series.”

NTDP Training Series are held on a quarterly basis and have been distributed across the country.

“We have quadrupled the number of high-quality training opportunities over our previous programs while reducing the travel demands for athletes and their families,” Vint said. “As we continue to learn from each and every program we host, I am optimistic that the quality and competitiveness of the NTDP will continue to improve.”

The NTDP is based on a continuous, long-term athlete development framework which holds the athlete at the center. The NTDP emphasizes the health, well-being, and well-rounded development of each individual athlete. Indoor, beach and sitting volleyball players have increased opportunities to train and compete with and against the best athletes from across the country while learning from some of the best minds in the game.

“Aligning our National Team Development Program with the philosophies, methodologies and culture of our national teams is important to sustain competitive excellence in our sport,” U.S. Women’s National Team Assistant Coach/NTDP Director Erin Virtue said. “In addition to proper alignment with our senior national teams, the NTDP continues to improve our talent identification framework; and that begins with our NTDP Scouting Network. We are proud to lean on some of the top volleyball minds in our sport to aid in the identification of the highest potential athletes across the United States.”

Age-group categories begin with girls under-15 and boys under-16, with under-21 as the oldest age groups for both genders. Invited athletes have the opportunity to participate in the NTDP Training Series, which includes quarterly training programs at locations across the country. A new series of regionalized events, called NTDP Accelerators, offers athletes the chance to train against some of the top competition throughout their region.

Athlete Selection

Athletes are selected for the NTDP Training Series and competition via a nationwide scouting network. Scouts within our NTDP Scouting Networks continually identify athletes at various events including boys and girls qualifiers and high school/club tournaments across the United States.

Questions can be emailed to ntdpinfo@usav.org

Why the NTDP is a Better Model

“Player development and coach development…those are not just clean, easy, smooth paths. Some people develop more quickly; some people take a lot longer and they’re late bloomers; some develop and then slow down and come back up. We just don’t want to have anyone slip through the cracks; anybody who could be a contributor to our senior national teams at some future time.”

Karch Kiraly

Head Coach, U.S. Women's National Team


Karch Kiraly

The Importance of NTDP

NTDP General FAQ


NTDP in the News

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Why NTDP?

“Athletes develop and mature at different rates, so we needed a new approach to the identification and evaluation of athletes.”

Bill Hamiter
Director, Sitting National Teams

We know this is a big change for our USA Volleyball community, so we are working to provide as much information as possible.

Our full NTDP FAQ page will answer many of your questions.


Sean Scott, Director of Beach National Teams

The Importance of NTDP

NTDP Instagram

Bill Hamiter, Director of Sitting National Teams

The Importance of NTDP