Columbus East Football Club

2024-2025 Season

Columbus East Football Club (CEFC) offers a dedicated club soccer environment with an emphasis placed on player development within the group structure. CEFC intends to deliver an experience based on best practices gleaned from some of the leading soccer academies in the world. CEFC will also provide, educated, committed, and energetic coaches within that structure.

CEFC’s mission is to develop creative, skillful, technically sound, tactically aware, adaptable soccer players who understand, love and appreciate the game. These core values incorporate an understanding that winning at the youth level is not a prerequisite for molding and coaching elite soccer players. Winning tournaments and games are a byproduct of players who are developed and coached in the right way, and are not the end goal.

F3 affiliate clubs are hosting open tryouts for all ages during the months of May and June. 

We look forward to seeing you out at the fields!

Spring: Mar-June

Fall: Aug-Nov

Age Groups

SKILL SESSIONS FOR U6 & U7 Boys & Girls

Under 8 Boys & Girls

F3 coaches, is a youth soccer development program for more serious Under 6 - Under 7 soccer players that really love and enjoy the game. It is run in partnership with Columbus East Soccer Association (CESA), CEFC's partner recreational program.

Activities: 8 Skills Sessions during CESA's Season and additional scrimmages

Under 9 Boys & Girls

Format: 7v7

Under 12 Boys & Girls

Format: 9v9

Under 13 Boys & Girls

Format: 11v11

Format: 4v4, 5v5 or 7v7

Under 10 Boys & Girls

Format: 7v7

Under 11 Boys & Girls

Format: 9v9

A Note From Seamus O’Rielly, the Director of Coaching @ F3

Hi All, 

I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your commitment to organizing our teams. Your efforts are essential to the success of our individual teams and the program as a whole. As we move forward, our goal is to streamline communication to increase efficiency and organization. Communication in youth sports is often a challenge, whether it's due to missed emails or unread texts. Improving in this area is crucial, and we need your help to achieve this. It's important to recognize the complexity involved in running a single team, including arranging referees for games, reserving fields for practices and games, managing uniforms, and registering for tournaments.

Note: All Correspondence with Parents must be signed off by the head coach!

All communication with parents must go through:

  • Club Administrator: Taylor Boveine - taylorboveine@gmail.com

  • Head Coach

Responsibilities of Coaches and Administrative Staff

Coaches and administrative staff are responsible for:

  1. Practice and game schedules

  2. Offers to incoming players after tryouts

  3. Team selection

  4. Assigning player positions

  5. Resolving parent conflicts

  6. Deciding on playing time for players

  7. Selecting tournaments

  8. Creating team culture

Roles and Responsibilities of a Team Administrator

Team Administrators play a crucial role in ensuring smooth communication and operations. Their responsibilities include:

  1. Acting as a liaison between the coaching staff and families

  2. Providing information about practice and game schedules, including locations and times

  3. Communicating any changes to the schedule to families

  4. Sharing team expectations with every parent (to be provided close to the start of the season)

  5. Directing families to coaching staff and administration for any issues or conflicts

Final Third and CEFC deeply appreciate everything you do for the team, the club, and the families. Your dedication is invaluable as we continue to grow and improve.

Kind Regards, 

Seamus Reilly/Director of Coaching Final Third Foundation

seamus@finalthirdfoundation.org

Our Coaches

Our coaches subscribe to the CEFC coaching curriculum and philosophy, which emphasizes teaching players technical skills and tactical awareness. Players will always look to play forward. The pattern of play will be to play out from the back, through midfield and into the final third. The goal is to mold players who understand and demonstrate the best decision making on the soccer field in all situations.

Mwaliko Ahmed

Rafael Fernandes de Oliveira

Laura Leland

Coach Mwaliko Ahmed has been with CEFC since 2019, and he continues continuing to develop as one of the top youth coaches coach in Central Ohio. "It is amazing how much you can have an impact on a kids life through soccer. I have been playing the game from a very young age, and I still continue to compete. I will be playing soccer until I cannot stand," says Malik. Malik is from Kenya, and played for West High School for 4 years. He then attended Urbana University and played for Urbana and Coach Nick Roberts for 4 years. During his senior year both in High School, and in College, he was named Captain.

Coach Rafael Fernandes de Oliveira has an amazing amount of experience in the world of soccer. He played professionally in Brazil, Uruguay, and Israel. Now, his primary focus is coaching and developing top-level players in Columbus, Ohio. He founded a futsal academy in Brazil that currently has about 160 players, and is now extremely excited to join the CEFC program, and the Final Third Foundation. Coach Rafa also coaches with Columbus Futsal. Coach Rafa Oliveira is energetic and motivating. He loves working with children, creating a dynamic environment in which games and discoveries go hand in hand, and believes in always encouraging every player to achieve and reach their maximum performance level.

​Coach Laura Leland has been participating in the soccer world as a player and coach for over 30 years. She was a 4 year High School Varsity Starter, leading in assists and goals during that time. In 1997 she was named on 1st Team All State for Division II in Ohio. From 1998-2001 Laura played Division II soccer at the University of Indianapolis as a 4 year starter. Here she lead the Greyhounds in points. 2001-2002 She was an Academic All-American and GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was a 2 time GLVC player of the week in 2001. Following her College career she played for Indiana Blaze in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 she graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. In the same year she became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA. She has her E Soccer Coaching License and has coached all ages and competitive levels of development or club soccer from toddlers to Elite U18 age groups in her 18 years of coaching experience. Her philosophy focuses on developing dynamic players who understand the beautiful creative game of soccer.

Age Appropriate Development

4-7 Year Olds 

  1. Ball manipulation skills 

  2. Dribbling changing direction

  3. Correct passing technique. 

  4. Executing 3-4 skills while moving 

  5. Have fun

  6. Made to feel part of the team

8-10 Year Olds 

  1. Core technique

  2. Pass and receive. 

  3. Understanding of width and depth

  4. 1v1 Attacking 

  5. 1v1 Defending 

  6. Building out of the back

  7. Pick a team to support 

  8. Encourage watching professional games 

  9. Correct striking technique

11-14 Year Olds 

  1. Advanced technique

  2. Team tactics

  3. Team attacking 

  4. Team defending 

  5. Skills needed in the 3 phases of play

  6. Keeping possession 

  7. Style of play

  8. High level technique 

15-19 Year olds 

  1. Team tactics 

  2. 11v11 Systems of play

  3. Position specific

  4. Counter attacking

  5. Switching play

  6. Set piece knowledge 

 

 

Our Fields

CEFC's home fields are at Pathways Park. The facility is part of the Easton Town Center and is located at 4475 Sunbury Road, Columbus, Ohio 43219. It is about a quarter of a mile south of Morse Road.

Pathways Park is a 25 acre complex divided into two sections - North and South. Separate Parking Lots are available for both sections.

Fields 1-6 are located at the SOUTH end of the complex.
Fields 7-13 are located at the NORTH end of the complex.