As the dog days of summer have come and gone, event season marches on, and this week the 15U/16U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup kicks off. The NTIS is a tournament made up of six regions, each with two teams competing in Cary, North Carolina.

A series of regional tryouts take place, guided by each regional director, who is responsible for planning and selecting their roster. For the Midwest region, director Rich Janor returns having won gold the past three years at the 16U level, and is looking to accomplish a four-peat.

With this event spanning across the nation, the NTIS can give these players exposure at the best facilities and the best talent. With how the regional tryouts are set up, players from towns big or small have the same chance to be able to represent their region – making sure no one goes overlooked.

“[The] NTIS is a process that allows players from, in our case, the Midwest region to put themselves on the map on a national scale, and allows them to be exposed to the best players around the country and the best facilities. It gives them a chance to shine and the opportunity for someone from a small town to be able to take a big leap onto the national stage,” said Janor.

Unlike typical travel baseball tournaments where kids may have played together for multiple seasons, NTIS regions allow players from their designated states to play together for the first time, or, if they have participated in the NTIS before, another chance with some new and some familiar teammates.

“We have 12 states to cover, so it’s a vast territory. It starts with a round one tryout in most of the major cities across the Midwest. Then the players who advance from the round one tryout advance to what’s called our prospect games, which is our final tryout in the Chicago area,” said Janor.

Beyond the process of making an all-region team, the NTIS is all about the experience of coming together with one goal in mind – winning. With raving reviews from players who have participated in the event, the NTIS has a great amount of impact on its participants, and Janor can speak to that from his experience.

“We always talk to players after the event, and many of them say it’s the best baseball experience they have ever had. For those who are patriotic, for those who love their country, and love baseball, there's nothing better than this,” said Janor.

With the Midwest three-peating at the 16U level, a lot has led to the success of the program. The identification process is something Janor gave credit to, along with having a talented group of players. Crediting the coaching staff as well, the Midwest seems to have found the formula to win big at the NTIS Champions Cup.

“Well, we’ve done the best that we can to identify the best players. Even though I think we have a great coaching staff and a great process. The bottom line is you've got to have the horses, and you've got to have the talent, and I think we’ve done a good job finding the best players from rural and suburban areas,” said Janor.

Looking to continue the dominance at the 16U level, Janor plans to use some returning players to lead the team to success. With multiple guys back who know the process, Janor understands he has an edge with some players who look to take on a new role.

“We do have some players who are back who have been successful in the past, and we’ll ask those guys to take a leadership role. Success breeds success, so people follow us back home and say the Midwest is doing great, and they’re more likely to want to be a part of it. So, from that standpoint were just excited to get it rolling,” said Janor.

A competitive week of baseball awaits Janor and his Midwest squads, looking to bring home another gold medal and ultimately a Champions Cup title, though they will certainly have a target on their backs. Returning some veteran players will certainly help bring an extra boost to the teams. Janor and the Midwest still have the same goal: go for the four-peat.