Nikolaj Nyholm, CEO of Astralis, admitted in an interview with Dust2.dk that the Astralis Talent program has not lived up to expectations. He believes the academy's failures have been a bigger defeat than the lack of major trophies for the main team over the past four years. “Honestly, I think it was a bigger sporting defeat than the fact that we haven't taken any major trophies in four years,” Nyholm noted.
Although the Astralis now have players such as staehr, jabbi and stavn on their roster, they did not come through the organization's academy but played for other teams such as the Flames or in Germany. Nyholm cited the example of MOUZ NXT, who have done a better job of finding and developing Danish talent: “We see that MOUZ NXT have done a better job of finding Danish talent and training them in their academy than we have. So this is, in my opinion, a bigger omission than the lack of trophies”.
The challenges of an academic program
Nyholm emphasizes that the academy's problems are not just about results at tournaments, but that young players are not internalizing the organization's core values. “First of all, they are growing up in the Astralis culture. Do they understand what we want and what our attitude towards the game is?” - wonders the CEO.
In addition, player loyalty to Astralis and the financial aspects are also a concern. The organization has to pay to bring in outside players instead of developing them within the academy. “Of course there are financial implications in terms of having to pay you to bring in players,” Nyholm added.
A new approach to talent development
Starting in 2025, Astralis intends to fundamentally change the approach to the academy program. One of the key changes will be a focus on younger players and an early start to their development. Nyholm emphasized that players should come to the team with the potential to grow, not just to play in tournaments like the POWER League. “We need to bring in players early. We don't just want players who can play in the POWER League, we want players with development potential,” he explained.
Also being considered is the possibility of expanding the academy beyond the standard five-player roster and contracting young talents who may start in other teams in the lower divisions: “If you join our academy as a young 14-15 year old player, you may have to start in the 3rd division in another team”.
Astralis Talent are currently 4th in the POWER League and their squad includes:
Financial and organizational constraints
However, the realization of these plans depends on the club's financial capacity. The organization is carefully examining the available options, including budgetary constraints. Despite the challenges, Astralis has an obligation to develop Danish players, especially when many other Danish academies have already ceased to exist.
Source: Dust2.dk
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