NTIS: Humble Beginnings

By KATIE BOSTIC | USA Baseball

Just like any event, the National Team Identification Series (NTIS) started out as an idea.

Rick Riccobono, USA Baseball’s Chief Development Officer and a driving force behind many of USA Baseball’s innovative programs, led the charge.

“At the time, the [13U] championships were a big part of our selection model and for individual players who may not be associated, there was a gap in the identification process,” Riccobono said.

“We wanted to create an opportunity for kids on a regionalized and accessible level to have access to be a part of Team USA. We started off with the champions program idea, we learned a lot, and that morphed into NTIS.”

At the time of the inaugural NTIS in 2009, USA Baseball had just six programs that players could participate in: the 14U National Team, the 16U National Team, the 18U National Team, the Collegiate National Team, the Women’s National Team and the Professional National Team.

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The impact of the NTIS was felt immediately on all six programs.

In 2009, Team USA added five more gold medals to its name, including the 14U National Team and the 18U National Team emerging victorious at their respective CO- PABE Pan Am “A” Championships, while the 16U National Team won it all at the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) “AA” World Cup.

“We figured out that this was a model that works – there’s some real value here,” Riccobono continued. “[We asked ourselves] where was the growth opportunity for this concept? From there, we began to add different age groups for all of the other national teams, and now we’ve added the National Team Development Programs and the program has continued to grow.”

Since 2009, Team USA has claimed 19 gold, three silver, and two bronze medals, which is no doubt a reflection on the importance of the NTIS. In fact, the red, white and blue have brought home gold at least once every year since 1997.

What started as an event with three age groups competing during one weekend has grown into an event which now fields six age groups hailing from sixteen regions competing over three weekends in August. Thousands of athletes have competed at the USA Baseball National Training Complex throughout the nine-year history of the NTIS.

“Originally, we felt like we had a strong idea and a good concept. We didn’t immediately recognize that it would grow into this massive program that serviced all of these teams. It’s important that the NTIS has had so much success because that led itself to expansion and growth,” Riccobono continued.

In its current state, the NTIS services the 12U National Team, 14U National Team Development Program, 15U National Team, 16U National Team Development Program, 17U National Team Development Program and the 18U National Team – a significant jump from just three programs in 2009.

Even though the event has grown exponentially since its inception, the simple mission of NTIS has stayed constant throughout the years: “[The NTIS] represents the opportunity for every player to pursue their dream of playing for Team USA,” said Riccobono.