Nine boys, five girls from Great Lakes Region named to national development team

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, developed and evaluated within a high-level training environment within the USA Volleyball National Team system.

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.

One of the key principles in athlete development and the National Team Development Program is having the best athletes train with and against the best. The NTDP National Training Series hosts national programs four times each year that will invite the top 25-30 athletes per birth year to train together.

Participation in the NTDP Training Series provides evaluation, feedback and individual development plans (IDP) that are accompanied by online learning experiences to help support athletes in a healthy and holistic way. The NTDP Training Series is age-appropriate and aligned with the expectations of our senior national team coaching and performance staff.

NTDP increases the opportunities for athletes to be seen and evaluated and to develop within the USA Volleyball National Team system. This is a fluid system with an athlete-centered focus that emphasizes the health, well-being and overall development of each individual player. Players will have increased opportunities to play with and against the best athletes from across the country and to learn from some of the best minds in the game.

Age group categories begin with girls under 15 and boys under 16 with the oldest age groups for both genders being under 21. Athletes age 15 and older may participate in the NTDP Training Series held quarterly at locations across the country. A new series of local events called NTDP Accelerators will offer athletes the chance to train against top competition in their area.

There are no tryouts for NTDP. Athletes are selected to training and competition via a nationwide scouting network. Scouts from around the country are selected to identify athletes at qualifiers, bid events and high school/club tournaments across the United States.

Specific locations and dates for the 2023 NTDP calendar may be viewed on the USA Volleyball calendar or on the Training Series web pages (indoor/beach). 

The seven boys from the Great Lakes Region named to the U18 roster are 6-2 junior outside hitter Charles Clifford (Glenbard West/630 Volleyball VBC), 6-8 sophomore middle hitter Nolan Cocat (Lake Park/Future VBC), junior libero Andrew Flores (Lincoln-Way West/Adversity VBC) and 5-10 sophomore libero Jackson Kern (Libertyville/Adversity VBC).

Also, 6-7 sophomore middle blocker Nathan Knight (Libertyville/Adversity VBC), 6-4 junior outside hitter Matthew Muehlnickel (Lincoln-Way East/Adversity VBC) and 6-4 junior outside hitter Nathen Toth (Marist/Adversity VBC).

Six-foot junior setter Christian Teresi (Marist/Adversity VBC) was named to the U19 roster and 6-8 senior David Wolff (New Trier/Adversity) was named to the U20 roster.
 
On the girls’ side, 6-5 sophomore middle blocker Lynney Tarnow (Benet Academy/1st Alliance VBC), 5-9 junior libero Aniya Warren (Benet Academy/1st Alliance VBC) and 6-3 junior outside hitter Georgia Watson (Huntley/Sky High VBC) were named to the U18 roster, while 6-3 junior setter Addy Horner (St. Francis/1st Alliance VBC) and 6-3 junior outside hitter Abby VanderWal (Timothy Christian/1st Alliance VBC) were named to the U19 roster.