Patrice Bernier retired but still giving to the game he loves
Retired Brossard native enjoying coaching role with MLS team’s academy
Patrice Bernier admits he’s added a handful of pounds since his final professional soccer match last October, but maintains he remains in decent shape.
But the former Impact captain hasn’t regretted his decision to retire at age 38 and has no pangs to return. That feeling, Bernier insisted, won’t waver next week, when the Major League Soccer team launches its training camp at Olympic Stadium before departing for Florida to continue workouts.
“The pre-season’s starting and I have no will to go on the field,” he said Tuesday. “There are habits that don’t die, but I’m happy with what I’m doing. There are new challenges and I’m learning a lot.
“I’m in the right chair. My feelings won’t change.”
Though the Brossard native will no longer play competitively, he’ll likely remain inexorably linked to the team. Bernier is two weeks into his new job as a coach with the club’s academy and is also preparing for the second edition of the Patrice Bernier and Friends charity indoor soccer game.
This year’s event will be held Feb. 17 at the Pierre Charbonneau Centre with proceeds going to La Maison d’Haiti, which has become a lifeline to Haitians who have come to Montreal and who need help finding lodging and navigating Canada’s immigration and refugee protection system.
Bernier continues working out at Centre Nutrilait, the Impact’s training centre, and his responsibilities are all-encompassing. Not only must he put together the components of a training session, he’s working with adolescents who have their own daily issues while combining athletics and education.
Should Bernier eventually want to become a coach — a natural progression — he believes he’s attacking it in the most beneficial manner.
“I know how to analyze the game. Now I’m dissecting it structure by structure. It’s different,” explained Bernier, who played midfield for Montreal, was a national team stalwart and arguably the best Quebec-produced player. “It’s not just the sports aspect. I have to learn the mental aspect of dealing with students who are growing up and developing ... going through puberty and changes to their body.
“I can’t be so direct. Here, you have to take a step back and assess things before you judge. How to attack questions and finding solutions.”
Although Bernier scored once in his final game against New England and was carried off the field triumphantly, the Impact, long since eliminated from the playoffs, lost 3-2. Montreal ended its season with five consecutive defeats, winning only one of its final 10 matches.
Following the season, it was announced head coach Mauro Biello wouldn’t return. He was replaced by Rémi Garde.
“I would have loved to finish strong,” Bernier said.
“It was sad to collectively not finish and win something.”
Bernier believes the players returned with a false sense of confidence and might have taken things for granted after advancing to the Eastern Conference final in 2016, losing the two-game, total-goal aggregate to Toronto FC.
“I think we all believed, because of the success in the playoffs, things would transpire,” Bernier said.
“Then we were confident it would turn around. But we weren’t able to. We were in the playoff picture for some time, but weren’t able to change it and be consistent. We put ourselves in a difficult situation.”
Bernier has spoken with Garde occasionally.
He has found the new coach to be calm yet firm in his thinking and philosophical approach.
“I know it’s difficult to understand from outside because it’s a new era, cycle. Things don’t just come quickly,” Bernier said. “He has to put his mark, see what’s needed and not; how he can put his plan into place. He and his staff have a good pedigree and experience. He’s confident. It’s just a question of putting their ideas together and making sure it’s a successful team.”
Bernier has been an ambassador at Maison d’Haiti for several years and wanted to lend his name for a good cause.
Seeing the number of charity hockey games that are played annually, this seemed natural, he said. Last year’s event, with only three weeks’ promotion, raised $7,000.
“He’s not just lending his name and doing nothing. He’s helping me (establish) contact (with celebrities),” said Alexandre Kénol, the project director and promoter for GEAK. “He’s really involved. You can see in his personality that he wants everyone to join together.”
The two team captains will be Université de Montréal head coach Danny Maciocia and radio sports journalist Jean-Charles Lajoie. Among those scheduled to participate are retired Impact defender Hassoun Camara and former MLS player Dwayne De Rosario.
The pre-season’s starting and I have no will to go on the field ... I’m in the right chair. My feelings won’t change.