Wilfried Nancy was named head coach of the U18 team, Jason DiTullio was named head coach of the U16 team, Eduardo Sebrango was selected as the responsible of the secondary 2 players, assistant coach of the U16 team and coach of the Academy forwards, Antoine Guldner was chosen to lead the Secondary 1 players and will also be responsible for the mental preparation of the players, Owen Braun was named the goalkeeper coach for the Academy, Jean-Yves Grenouillat was named the Academy’s head scout and Yannick Girard was chosen the Academy physical trainer.
“We are proud to unveil a qualified coaching staff, who brings a wealth of experience as well as the ability to teach, skills we were looking for in developing our youth players,“ said director of player development Philippe Eullaffroy. “We have put in place today a structure that is going to help us achieve our goals of developing local players to become professionals with the Impact in MLS.”
The club is taking steps for its U15 and U16 teams in order to have them play in the US Soccer Development league in 2012. The two teams would play in the U16 and U18 categories.
“We want our teams to be able to play against the best competition possible,” said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis. “The highest levels of soccer in North America for youth teams is south of the border. The majority of MLS clubs have youth teams in that league. We want to give our players the best developmental opportunities.”
The development of the Academy players will be done through a sports study program at the start for the 2011 school year. The sports study programs will be done in conjunction with the Édouard-Montpetit (Francophone) and Lester B. Pearson (Anglophones) high schools. Over 80 players are set to take part in daily training sessions that will be held at CAPCE, located on the Cegep Marie-Victorin campus.
Philippe Eullaffroy will once again be at the helm of the Impact reserve team, the U21 Academy, set to play its second season in the Canadian Soccer League. Olivier Brett will also be back as the team’s assistant coach.
The U21 Academy opens its season on May 6. The team will play 26 games against 13 opponents. The complete schedule has not been confirmed yet.
A QUALIFIED STAFF
Nancy has been a coach at the AAA level in 2006 and 2007, as well as technical director of the South Shore regional soccer association since 2008, while coaching at the provincial level as well. Before becoming a coach, he was a professional player in France (Ligue 2, CFA, national).
DiTullio played with the Impact from 2002 to 2007. Due to several injuries to his knee, he was forced to retire. Since that time, he has been the technical director of the Anjou soccer association. Also, since 2008, he has served as the Quebec provincial coach of the U14 team.
Sebrango, who announced his retirement Monday, wore the Impact colours from 2002 to 2005, and then again in 2009 and 2010. Sebrango has also played with Vancouver, Rochester and Hershey. Sebrango finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer in the American second division with a total of 98 goals and 30 assists for a total of 226 points in 257 career games.
Guldner joined the Academy in 2011. As a player he participated in the national championship with Castelnau-Le Cres, in 1999 and 2001. He has a masters degree in coaching and sports psychology from l'Université des Sciences et Technologies des Activités Physique et sportives de Montpellier 1, as well as a license in Sports Science and Technique, with a specialization in learning methods for soccer.
Braun was the goalkeeper coach with McGill University from 2005 to 2010 and with the Laval Comets from 2006 to 2010. He has also served as a coach with the Quebec provincial program from 2003 to 2008, goalkeeper coach at the Centre national de haute performance (CNHP) and coach with the women’s U17 national team since 2005.
Grenouillat played professionally in France during the 60s and 70s, at the CFA and national division levels with the Poitiers. He also served as coach with a club from Lyon, from 1980 to 1986, called Rhodia-Vaise.
Girard has been responsible for the physical conditioning of many professional players. He has also contributed to the sports study program on the south shore and has initiated many physical preparation programs for AAA teams in Quebec. He has also served the athletes of the CNHP over the last two years.
The Academy also hired Louis-Philippe Grenier, as the family councillor, and Julie Bertrand, as head therapist.
PÉPÉ'S PHOTOS
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