3 NOVEMBER, 2021

Leo Meireles joins Tulsa Soccer Club

Tulsa SC is invested in the future! Leo Meireles is hired as the club's new Futsal Director to develop a comprehensive Futsal program.

Tulsa SC President, Barry Williams announced the appointment of Leo Meireles as Tulsa Soccer Club Futsal Director.  "We are excited to welcome Leo to Tulsa SC and the Tulsa soccer community,” said Williams. “Leo brings a wealth of experience to our club and is the perfect fit to direct our futsal program and establish it as one of the leading programs in the nation.” Leo’s work starts immediately and he has emphasized two main long-term goals: develop better soccer players through Futsal training and provide the highest level pathway for players to compete in Futsal.

Leo joins Tulsa SC after working 4 years as the United Futsal Technical Director and Tournament Director. At United Futsal, Leo developed the United Futsal University and their coaching licensing system. He built the National Training Camp curriculum and ran multiple tournaments as a tournament director. "I loved the time I spent at United Futsal. We were able to do great things together, but I was missing the court, the kids... I wanted to be back coaching to feel my blood warm again. I love to coach and to compete," said Leo. United Futsal president, Rob Andrews said,"Leo puts his heart and soul into everything he does. Though we are sad to see him go, knowing that the youth players of Tulsa are going to get the benefit makes it easier to say goodbye. We look forward to seeing Leo on ‘the other side of the court’ this Winter."

Born and raised in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, and just like the majority of Brazilians, Leo has played futsal and soccer since he was a kid. As an attacking midfielder in soccer and as an ala-pivot in futsal, he played for Tupi FC Youth Academy as a teenager, played college for UFJF, and semi-pro for Waza Flo, on which he was crowned Major League Futsal champions in 2017. As a coach, Leo began his career in 2008 at the futsal program of Matias Barbosa, coaching youth teams from U11 to U17 and being the assistant coach of the adult semi-pro team. His coaching experience is very wide, including coaching both sports (futsal and soccer) in different countries (Brazil and USA), different ages (from U6 to Adult) and at different levels (from rec to semi-pro).

With 13 years of experience as a Sports Manager/Director, Leo was named Futsal Director for Matias Barbosa (2008-2014) and for Waza FC (2016-2017). He worked as Technical Director for Euro FC (2016), Legacy Futsal (2018-2019) and for United Futsal (2018-2021). He has also worked as Camp Director (TetraBrazil and United Futsal) and as Tournament Director (UFJF and United Futsal). Within these experiences, he has developed multiple curriculums (for clubs, camps and coaching education initiatives), ran multiple coaching education courses (National Diploma, Regional Diploma and others), camps (National Training Camp and others) and tournaments (World Futsal Championships, World Futsal Cup and others). 

Leo graduated in physical education by the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), has a master degree in Sports Management by UFJF and another master degree in Soccer Sciences by Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He holds a CBFS A License II, a CBF C License (soccer), a DOC Diploma by United Soccer Coaches and is currently finishing his CBF B License (futsal). In addition to those licenses, he has had the opportunity to learn directly from some of the best futsal coaches in history, such PC de Oliveira, Ferretti, Marquinho Xavier, José Venancio, Wilton Santana, etc.
 

Leo begins his journey at Tulsa Soccer Club on November 1st. "I am so excited to be back at Tulsa to coach Futsal. This city has an incredible amount of talent, one of the best futsal facilities in the country and great coaches. We definitely have the potential to be one of the best futsal academies in the World" said Leo. "My intention is to contribute to what is already happening in the club. John Michael and Joao Cerbino have done an incredible job over the past years, presenting Futsal to the community. It is clear to those who participated in these programs all the benefits this sport can bring to Soccer Players. Our intention now is to maximize and improve what has been done. We want to reach more kids. We want to take them to the highest level!"