Football players from all across the country gathered in four select locations – Denver, Oklahoma City, Seattle and Baltimore – for the final round of evaluations at Regional Development Camps this past weekend.

So what’s next for the athletes?

The National Development Games, coming this summer in late June to early July.

“It’s important to me to see players in pads when we are trying to select a National Team that plays a game in pads,” said Aaron Ingram, U.S. National Team senior manager of football player and coach personnel. “I want to see players run, block and tackle.” 

It's also an opportunity for coaches to hone their skills.

"We don’t want to just develop players, but we want to develop coaches as well," Ingram said. "Each staff (three members) will have a team of nine who will coach two teams of 45 and control a roster of 90 throughout the week.”

With the coaching staff parameters in place, players should be prepared for a college-like training camp when they participate in the Development Games – live in the dorm; eat in the dorm; have meetings and practice twice a day.

Not only are the players trying to earn a spot to represent their country, the coaches also expect them to be coachable, be on time and be able to learn and pick up concepts. Here is a brief breakdown of the week’s festivities for the players invited to the Development Games for both the middle school and high school level:

Day 1 (Tuesday): Players check in and have first practice that evening (jerseys and shorts; no helmets). Teams work on agility and individual drills.

Day 2 (Wednesday): Practice in the morning, team meetings, and another practice in the afternoon. In both sessiosn, teams hit the field for approximately two hours.

Day 3 (Thursday): Teams will host a modified scrimmage – practice in the morning and then a set scrimmage with a quick whistle from +30-in.

Day 4 (Friday): Two practices that are a lot lighter in just helmets and jerseys the day before kickoff. This day is spent on getting assignments correct and watching film. Second practice is a walkthrough.

Day 5 (Saturday – Gameday): It’s a very exciting time, starting with the pregame meal three hours before kickoff. Games will start at 9 a.m. and roll through the day; approximately 3-3.5 hours per contest. Three games are scheduled and times will be released on site. 

“This is the second step in our pathway to be playing for the U.S. National Team,” Ingram said. “The players go on from there – and after a good showing – they will move on to International Bowl in January.” 

The stage is set for football players from coast-to-coast to inch their way closer to the International Bowl for the U.S. National Team – all they have to do is put on a show on the field later this summer.