Ewing, NJ … Rocky Hager, a full-time assistant football coach for The College of New Jersey, has been selected to join the coaching staff of the 2014 U.S. Under-19 National Team, assembled by USA Football. The team will compete in the 2014 International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship, an eight-nation tournament held from July 7-16 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
 
The U.S. Under-19 National Team roster includes 44 high school and college athletes representing 20 states. They will compete in a pool of national teams from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Kuwait and Mexico. The United States won the inaugural IFAF Under-19 World Championship in 2009 in Canton, Ohio.
 
"First and foremost, I love coaching," said Hager, who will serve as defensive coordinator on Team USA. "This assignment will allow me to do it in a part of the world I've never seen before. It will be a challenge to work with a group of young players and see how much they can absorb in a short period of time. But it's a talented group of all stars and I am really looking forward to the experience."
 
The defensive coordinator for the Lions, Hager was contacted by the general manager of the U-19 team, Todd Bell. He has known Bell since the late 1980s through his affiliation with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Bell offered the assignment to Hager and then provided him with hundreds of players on film to evaluate for potential selection. The players that were selected to play are either rising high school seniors, rising college freshman or redshirt freshman.
 
U.S. players and coaches will report to training camp from June 25 to July 1. at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. The team departs for Kuwait on July 2. The U.S. plays Mexico on July 7, Germany on July 10 and Japan on July 13. The winner of each pool squares off in the final on July 16.
 
"There won't be a lot of time to review film in between games," noted Hager. "We'll have about a day to develop a game-plan, another day to prepare in practice and then we'll square off against our next opponent."
 
Hager played for Minot State College as an offensive lineman from 1970-1973. He has been a football coach since 1979 and enjoyed a successful coaching career. Hager won four national championships at North Dakota State during the 1980s. After winning two as an assistant coach in 1985 and 1986, Hager led the Bison's to a pair of undefeated seasons and Division II national titles in 1988 and 1990.
 
Hager also worked as an assistant coach at Temple University, where he spent seven seasons coaching the Owls' quarterbacks, linebackers, tight ends and slot receivers. Following Temple, Hager was hired as the head coach at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. He guided the Huskies for the next six seasons before the program was dropped after the 2009 season.
 
In August, Hager will lead TCNJ's defensive unit for the straight second year. He was hired in August of 2013 as the Lions went on to lead the New Jersey Athletic Conference in scoring defense (16.6 points per game) and total defense (279.6 yards per game).
 
Note: The IFAF is composed of 64 nations spanning six continents that possess a national federation dedicated solely to American football. The International Olympic Committee granted IFAF provisional IOC recognition during its December meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. A vote on football could take place as early as 2017. If approved, football would join the Summer Olympics lineup in 2024 at a host city yet to be determined. USA Football is the United States' delegate to IFAF.