Innovation and improvement at the forefront at Centre Nutrilait
Walking around Centre Nutrilait on any given day, you’re sure to see a few members of the first team nestled within the historic building, getting ready for training, receiving treatment, or simply grabbing something to eat.
But the former fire station on Letourneux Street is also the home of one of the club’s major components: The Academy.
Since it was created in the fall of 2011, the Academy’s seen the quality of the players it develops increase over the years. To give an example, earlier this year, Academy graduate and former first team player Ballou Tabla was sold to FC Barcelona in a record-breaking deal for the Impact.It all points to a culture of excellence that’s been developed at the Academy since its inception.
“We consider the development of players to be a science, even if it isn’t an exact science,” said Academy director Philippe Eullaffroy. “That’s why rely on solid scientific knowledge and a strong base that has allowed us to go in the right direction and be efficient from the start. That’s why it’s important to keep being innovative, keep looking to improve, keep looking at new tendencies, keep looking at what we can change or optimize to be better. Competition is ferocious, whether in MLS or around the world, and we want to perform and be recognized for the quality of our work.”
The Impact has cemented itself as one of the better Academies in North America over the years. The three Academy teams playing in the Development Academy all finished first in their respective groups last year, while the U17 group also went on and ended in third place in the Generation adidas Cup in Dallas.
“We elevated our standards last year, so now they’re higher going into this season,” explained Eullaffroy. “We always expect more. We want to show we’re solid year after year, and that we can at least maintain this level of performance. For the players, they’re constantly looking to progress and get closer to their dream of signing a pro contract. They all have the same objective.”
Constant improvement through the years
Eullaffroy has seen it all with the Bleu-blanc-noir. The Frenchman was nominated as the club’s first director of player development in 2010 and has served as head coach for a number of the Academy’s different teams over the years.
There may be no one better suited at the Impact to judge how far the Academy has come.
“Over the years, the Academy’s global level has vastly improved,” added Eullaffroy. “If we analyse the performances and results of our U19 team today, we can say its performances are identical and even better compared to what we saw in players three years older when the Academy was first created.”
“We’ve won three years in terms of quality, and that’s one of the strongest points we could make regarding the Academy’s progression.”
