The 2015-2016 USSDA season started last weekend for the Montreal Impact Academy U16 and U18 teams and both teams got off on the right foot with wins against Empire United.
The U18s were the first to play. The group, who is coached by interim head coach Simon Gatti, clinched a 4-1 win. Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla scored a brace, as teammates Pierre Lamothe and Badreddine Boulajoul, back from their first camp with the Canadian U20 national team, scored the other two goals.
“The U18s were dominant last year, so we have to do the same thing this season,” said Gatti. “Expectations are higher and we have to make sure the players are ready mentally. It’s important for the group to be focused and to keep the same pace for the whole game.”
The U16s took a four goal lead in their game before giving up two for a 4-2 win. Marco Pinna Cavallini, Tristano Fasulo, Jean-Arnaud Tano and Dontaye Whittaker were the scorers for the Bleu-blanc-noir in this game.
Next weekend, both teams will play two games in two days. Saturday, the U18s will play at 11am, while the U16s play at 1:30pm on the synthetic field at Stade Saputo, against NJCSA (New Jersey Cedar Starts Academy). The following day, the opposition is Players Development Academy, again on the synthetic field, at 11am for the U18s and 1:30pm for the U16s.
U14/U13
Even if they don’t take part in the USSDA championship, the Impact U14s also played the U14s from Empire United, who made the trip to Montreal with the two older teams.
“We had a first half where we put them in difficult situations with our runs and our technical quality, but it wasn’t good on the defensive transition,” said Impact U14 head coach Nicolas Gagnon. “We expect better from our players in this transition and with our ball movement, even more so in the second half.”
Nutritionist Belinda May also came to meet the U14 players and their parents to present daily nutrition advice and the particularities linked to the players’ schedules and road trips.
The U13s played their first game of the season on Saturday, September 5, against a good U13 FS Salaberry team. Head coach Serge Dinkota’s team was off for the weekend, but many players and the coach participated in the Centraide Cup’s skills competition.
Pre-Academy
For the younger players (U8, U9, U10), they had a Zumba class on Sunday to help them come out of their comfort zone. The U11s and U12s should also have a class coming soon.
