A 13-year-old Moncton boy has become the first New Brunswick soccer player to be recruited to join the Montreal Impact's elite training centre, where he'll live and breathe the sport far from home all year.

Goalkeeper Phoenix Roberts has signed with the Montreal Impact Academy, a student-athlete program that trains and develops professional players to enter the ranks of Major League Soccer.

"Training with the Montreal Impact everyday is going to be pretty exciting," Phoenix said when the decision became official.

"It was pretty exciting."

Phoenix will be a keeper for the Impact Academy's U14 team. (Submitted by Aaron Roberts )

Phoenix, who will be a keeper for the Impact Academy's U14 team, never expected to be signed to an elite program at such a young age.

"I didn't believe it at first," he said. "I was asking myself, 'I'm 13, how can I get to Montreal Impact this quickly?'"

Now the pressure is on to perform. If he works hard enough each year, he could continue to be signed and accepted into the program until he's 19.

If you want to aspire to be a pro, in the eastern part of Canada, in Quebec and the Maritimes, this is by far the best place that the player has to be. - Simon Gatti, Montreal Impact Academy head scout

"High-performance teams, high skills level — I'm going to have to try every single practice," he said.

Aaron Roberts, Phoenix's father, described the achievement as "unbelievable and obviously a dream come true" for his son.

"He's always had a passion, he's always had a bit of a motor and drive."

Catching the scout's eye

Phoenix was a keeper for the U13 boys with Team New Brunswick.

But he only started in soccer at eight years old, first playing for a house league, then Codiac AAA and Team NB.

"I didn't know it was going to happen this quickly," he said.

Team New Brunswick recently won gold at the Atlantic championships in Corner Brook, N.L., where Phoenix caught the eye of Simon Gatti, head scout for the Montreal Impact Academy.

Simon Gatti, head scout for the Montreal Impact Academy, says he spotted Phoenix Roberts's talent at the Atlantic championships in July. (Submitted by Aaron Roberts)

Gatti said it only took one game to see Phoenix's athleticism and future potential out on the field.

"The thing that really caught my eye was his personality, as a goalie — very commanding and at that age you don't see that too often — good communication always, involved in the game, concentrated," Gatti said.

Gatti invited Phoenix for a one-week trial in Montreal, and remembers the young player being "over the moon."

On Aug. 18, Phoenix was offered to sign with the Impact Academy.

Aaron Roberts, Phoenix Roberts, Hazel Maillet and Carole Maillet at Phoenix's final home game before he joins the Montreal Impact Academy at the end of August. (Radio-Canada/Stéphan Bénard)

But that gave the family only 12 days to make all the necessary arrangements to get him back to Montreal to start school on Aug. 30. Family and friends started fundraising to help cover the last-minute financial costs.

"It's a quick turnaround, but a good problem to have, right?" Phoenix's dad said.

In Montreal, Phoenix will live with a billet family and attend Grade 8 at Édouard-Monpetit, one of the five schools affiliated with the soccer program.

Roberts thought his son could be recruited one day but never anticipated it would happen at age 13.

"This is the real deal," Gatti said.

"He thinks, eats and breathes soccer, and you know it's a dream to play at the highest level."

The academy

Phoenix with his new goalkeeper coach of the Montreal Impact Academy, Owen Braun. (Submitted by Aaron Roberts)

The academy was established in 2011, with the goal of producing players good enough for the Montreal Impact, one of three professional clubs in Canada, along with Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

In the past six years, 26 athletes from the academy have gone on to play with professional soccer teams in Canada or elsewhere in the world. Ten went to the Montreal club, and six are still with the team.

"The sole objective of the academy is to produce players for the [pro] first team ... for longevity," Gatti said.

"If you want to aspire to be a pro, in the eastern part of Canada, in Quebec and the Maritimes, this is by far the best place that the player has to be."

Gatti said athletes have the opportunity to thrive both academically and athletically in the program.

Players spend the first four hours of the day in school, train at a new complex in the afternoon at a new complex, where the pro team also trains, then return to the classroom for an hour of study hall.

A boost for soccer in Maritimes

Younes Bouida, executive director of Soccer New Brunswick, said Phoenix's recruitment highlights the soccer talent the province has to offer.

"We have kids from here that are talented, that are passionate about the game," Bouida said.

He also said it's great motivation for future soccer players to dream big, and it's exciting for the New Brunswick soccer community.

Team New Brunswick's Under-13 soccer team won gold at boys Atlantic championships in Corner Brook, N.L., in July. (Submitted by Aaron Roberts)

"Its great for our soccer community for the players, coaches, volunteers and the soccer community in general to see that it's possible," Bouida said.

Aaron Roberts said none of it would have come about without the support of family, friends and the local soccer community.

"This is a team win for everybody," he said. "It puts us on the map."

Gatti said he'll be keeping a close eye on talent in the Maritimes.

"I'll be coming to the Atlantic championships every year," he said.

For Phoenix, soccer is more than a game — it's a passion.

"I just love playing the sport. I just love kicking the ball around."

While he'll miss his family when he moves to Montreal, he's also thinking long-term, he said. His dream is to go "as big as I can."

One day Phoenix hopes to play for Team Canada or for his favourite team, the famed FC Barcelona.

"You never know, you never know," he said.