SPARKS, Md. — The National Team Development Program (NTDP), an extended pathway for elite high school players to lay the foundation for eventual participation on the U.S. national teams, is back in 2021. US Lacrosse has announced the process and dates for the 2021 program.
The NTDP is a three-phase journey in one calendar year, starting with regional tryouts primarily held in conjunction with some of the top tournaments around the country. Following the regional tryouts, the top 150 boys and girls will be selected to attend national combines at US Lacrosse headquarters in August. The final phase will be 22-player teams named for the USA Select U16 and U18 squads that will participate in the Fall Classic in October.
The regional tryouts are one-day evaluations that last for two and a half hours. During these sessions, players will work hand-in-hand with U.S. national team coaches and players. US Lacrosse has created a standard, well-organized curriculum to be used at every regional tryout where players are evaluated and developed on both technical and tactical skills.
The curriculum for the regionals tryouts is fast-paced, focusing on position-specific, as well as team skills through a series of drills including competition in 1v1’s, 2v2’s, transition drills, and 6v6. Competition, drills, and playing situations are specifically designed to give the evaluators insight into the following areas where they will be rated: athleticism, stickwork, positional skill, game IQ, decision making and on-field presence.
For the regional tryouts, US Lacrosse has teamed up with five event operators — Adrenaline, NXT, PrimeTime, Summit Lacrosse Ventures and Trilogy Lacrosse — to host the tryouts in conjunction with scheduled tournaments.
"We are thrilled to be working with these best-in-class tournament operators to deliver the 2021 NTDP regional tryouts,” said Natalie Wills, senior manager of the National Team Development Program. “This year, we're going to where the athletes are, and look forward to reaching as many USA hopefuls as possible this summer.”
Generally, the regional tryout will take place the day before the tournament begins. Players do not need to be participating in the tournament to attend the regional tryout. For individuals unable to attend a regional tryout location, there will be a virtual application process. That application process will open later this spring. Here’s the full list of regional tryout dates and locations:
Regional Tryouts
| Day | Date | Event | Location | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | May 28 | US Lacrosse National Tournament | Baltimore, Md | Women's Only |
| Monday | June 7 | US Lacrosse Headquarters Event | Sparks, Md. | Men's Only |
| Tuesday | June 8 | US Lacrosse Headquarters Event | Sparks, Md. | Women's Only |
| Friday | June 11 | Southern Invitational | Woodstock, Ga. | M&W |
| Friday | June 18 | America's Finest Rivalry | San Diego, Calif. | M&W |
| Friday | June 18 | PrimeTime Shootout | Lancaster, Mass. | M&W |
| Thursday | June 24 | The Radar Invitational | Hillsborough, N.J. | Women's Only |
| Friday | June 25 | Northstar Capital City Classic / Saratoga Lacrosse Shootout | Albany, N.Y. | M&W |
| Friday | June 25 | MidAmerica Invitational | Westfield, Ind. | M&W |
| Friday | June 25 | The Radar Invitational | Hillsborough, N.J. | Men's Only |
| Monday | June 28 | Long Island Tryout | Dix Hills, N.Y. | M&W |
| Tuesday | July 6 | Platinum Cup | Frederica, Del. | Men's Only |
| Friday | July 9 | Western Shootout | Colorado Springs, Colo. | M&W |
Men's Registration Links | Women's Registration Links
To be eligible for the 2021 National Team Development Program, individuals must be born before August 31, 2007.
U18: The player must be born on or between September 1, 2002 and August 31, 2004.
U16: The player must be born on or between September 1, 2004 and August 31, 2007.
The Development Program is for high school athletes only.
*You must be enrolled in high school or 9th grade by the start of the 2021 academic school year to be eligible. If you are age-eligible, but still enrolled in middle school or 8th grade at the beginning of the 2021 academic school year, you are not eligible to participate this year.
**If you are enrolled in college at the start of the 2021 fall college semester, even if under the age of 18, you are not eligible to participate.
***Any age-eligible 2021s who are not enrolled in college by Fall of 2021 are welcome to apply as well.
The NTDP program held its first full season in 2019 and more than 1,300 of the nation’s top young players participated. The program was put on hold in 2020 due the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The NTDP program is supported by our partners, Cascade, Hudl, Maverik, NCSA and Squad Locker.
For more information about the NTDP, please visit: https://teamusa.uslacrosse.org/NTDP