U.S. Under-19 National Team Trials coming to Chicago this weekend
Steve Alic, Director of Communications Wed, 05/09/2012 - 1:18pm
USA Football will conduct one of five 2013 U.S. Under-19 National Team Trials on May 11-13 at the McCook Athletic and Exposition Center in McCook, Ill., featuring 150 high school football players from seven states. Players will compete for roster spots on Team USA, which will take part in the fourth annual International Bowl in February 2013 against a World Team comprised of high school-age players spanning four continents.
The three-day national trials in suburban Chicago will include individual position drills, one-on-one and seven-on-seven situations. In addition to the opportunity to be selected for the U.S. Under-19 National Team, USA Football will provide parents and athletes a variety of off-the-field developmental sessions. Speakers will address leadership and character-development topics as well as a seminar to help families manage the college recruiting process.
USA Football employs skill development, evaluation and competition to assess National Trials athletes. Each player receives a written evaluation by USA Football’s U-19 National Team scouts, all of whom have playing or scouting experience on the NFL or college level. Among the 2012 U.S. U-19 National Team Trials instructors are:
- Former Detroit Lions safety and Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner RON RICE, who will instruct and evaluate defensive backs;
- Minnesota Vikings scout STEPHEN PRICE, who will assist with evaluations of all players;
- Former Michigan State and Chicago Bears quarterback MILL COLEMAN, who will work with quarterbacks;
- U.S. Under-19 National Team head coach STEVE SPECHT of Cincinnati St. Xavier High School.
Scheduled to speak to the players and their parents from the NFL Player Engagement Ambassadors program are:
- Former NFL defensive back TROY VINCENT, now the vice president of NFL Player Engagement;
- CURTIS HOLLOMON, director of leadership development for the NCAA.
USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States. The Indianapolis-based nonprofit builds and manages U.S. national teams in football. Sixty-two (62) countries spanning six continents possess a national federation of sport dedicated solely to football.
USA Football is a member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). U.S. national teams compete in IFAF-sanctioned events, including the upcoming IFAF Under-19 World Championship in 2012, an eight-nation tournament for players age 19 and younger to take place this summer in Austin, Texas.
“We seek players who possess the skills and qualities befitting of a national team athlete, but whether one earns a Team USA roster spot is only part of what makes our National Trials extraordinary,” USA Football Executive Director SCOTT HALLENBECK said. “This event is rooted in preparing young men to be better people as well as better football players when they return to high school in the fall.”
About USA Football: USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent nonprofit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need. Endowed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
