SPARKS, Md. — There will be plenty of gold-medal experience on the coaching staffs for the inaugural National Team Development Program (NTDP) Combine, which begins at US Lacrosse on Monday.
Serving as the national combine directors will be John Galloway and Caitlyn Phipps. Galloway, the head men’s lacrosse coach at Jacksonville University, was a co-captain for the 2018 U.S. men’s team that won the world championship in Israel. Phipps, an assistant coach at the University of Maryland, was a member of the 2009 U.S. women’s team that won the world championship in the Czech Republic and the 2013 U.S. team that brought home gold from Canada.
The NTDP Combine welcomes nearly 300 high school-age players to US Lacrosse from Aug. 19-23 for separate three-day sessions for boys and girls that will include on-field, strength and conditioning, recruiting and sport psychology training.
It represents the second phase of the inaugural NTDP cycle. The players were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 who participated in 21 regional trials (boys and girls) conducted in partnership with the Premier Lacrosse League and Women’s Professional Lacrosse League.
Following the combine, a total of 88 players will be named to USA Select teams at the U15 and U17 levels that will compete against international competition in a showcase event this fall.
Galloway will serve as the boys’ national combine director from Aug. 19-21 and the head coach for the USA Select U17 team. He will be joined by his former Syracuse and Team USA teammate Joel White, who will serve as the boys’ combine assistant director and head coach of the USA Select 15 team.
Also serving as field coaches for the boys’ event will be Steven Brooks (offensive coordinator Paul VI School/player Atlas LC), John Haus (assistant coach Penn State/2018 U.S. team/Whipsnakes LC), Jamison Koesterer (assistant coach UMBC) and Brian Phipps (head coach Archbishop Spalding/2018 U.S. training team/Chesapeake Bayhawks).
Caitlyn Phipps will serve as the girls’ national combine director from Aug. 21-23 and the head coach for the USA Select U17 team. Molly Ford, a former Georgetown star that now coaches at the Hockaday School in Texas, will be the assistant director and head coach of the USA Select U15 team.
Serving as field coaches for the girls’ event will be four members of the 2017 U.S. women’s team that won the gold medal in England — Taylor Cummings (WPLL Fight), Meg Douty (WPLL Command), Katie Haus (WPLL Fire) and Gussie Johns (WPLL Fire).