Monterey High freshman Nakoa Companion has been selected to the USA Volleyball Beach National Team Development Program Accelerator. The nomination-only program puts young athletes on the path toward age-group national teams.
Monterey County sports columnist John Devine reported the selection on X on Monday, Sept. 28, calling Companion a volleyball standout.
The Accelerator is a three-hour, age-group session that pairs high-level competition with coaching from USA Volleyball's Beach NTDP staff, according to USA Volleyball's program page. Athletes cannot apply on their own. A club or high school coach must nominate them.
Athletes who perform well at Accelerators can advance to the NTDP Training Series, which gathers roughly the top eight to 12 players per birth year nationally, according to USA Volleyball. Players at that level are considered for USA Volleyball age-group national teams.
On USA Volleyball's development program page, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Karch Kiraly described the pipeline's philosophy: "We just don't want to have anyone slip through the cracks; anybody who could be a contributor to our senior national teams at some future time."
The selection caps a summer in which Companion established himself on the national beach volleyball circuit. He and partner Braden Hansen won the AVP Juniors 14U national championship at Hermosa Beach on July 27. Both were named AVP All-Americans.
Companion then competed in the inaugural AVP All-American Invitational, held Aug. 15-16 at Manhattan Beach Pier. The event drew nine players in the Boys 14U division, according to VolleyballLife.
USA Volleyball launched the NTDP in 2021 to identify and develop high-potential junior athletes for future international competition. The Beach NTDP arm runs Accelerators at regional sites across the country, giving nominated athletes a chance to train against top regional competition.
The specific Accelerator event Companion will attend, including its date and location, has not been announced publicly.
