In previous years, the Impact U17 was the first age category playing in the Development Academy in Montreal. That has changed this year, with the Impact U15 team joining the league this season. For the last time, head coach Nicolas Gagnon’s team will still face the challenge of having a big part of his roster without experience in the competition.
Gagnon will start next season with clear objectives. Among these, he wants to see progress in the defensive transition and in recognizing moments when to destabilize the opponent or when to build.
He also wants to see his team get better on free kicks, be more accurate and be more aware of their role.
“A big challenge will be to do all of this with a group in which half of the players never played in the Development Academy,” said Nicolas Gagnon. “We have a group with a lot of quality, but it’s also an age where they start having to look for consistency in their good performances.”
With this comes the challenge of playing time. Many players arriving at this level are used to playing every weekend because playing time is split when they are younger. In the U17 category, it’s a little different, because the performances during the week and the weekend have a major influence on each player’s playing time. Some will not be available for the weekend.
“That’s how it will be when they will be pros,” adds Nicolas Gagnon. “It’s a step that they have to live to become better. It’s a big challenge. We need to make sure everyone remains concerned and that they understand that even if they don’t play, they are just as important as the player on the field.”
Nicolas Gagnon often cites Raphaël Garcia, a full-back in his second year with the Impact U19 this season, as an example. Garcia played around 200 minutes in his first Development Academy season with the Impact U17. He stayed focused on his progression and the following year, he was a starter. He also became a starter in his first year with the Impact U19, last season.
Marked on the calendar
With the beginning of the season approaching comes the excitement of long expected meetings. The Impact U17 head coach noted four opponents that he is excited to face in the season.
“The Red Bulls always offer interesting and high-level games for our age, with two different styles that faceoff well. There is also New England, another MLS academy, but in our division, that we face twice during the season. They have many interesting players. Philadelphia Union is also interesting since we face them at the end of the season. Most of the time, these games are decisive for the playoffs on both sides. I would also add Players Development Academy to the list, which we faced during the season and in the playoffs last year. These were two good games and it’s an academy that gives an interesting challenge on the physical side of things.”
The Impact U17 will be the first Bleu-blanc-noir team to begin its season, as they will be on the field at Centre Nutrilait at 10am, this Saturday, to face FC Westchester.
