Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

Thomas Wheeldon Jr. (born 3 May 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current head coach of Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League.

Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
Wheeldon in 2022
Personal information
Full name Thomas Wheeldon Jr.
Date of birth (1979-05-03) 3 May 1979
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Cavalry FC (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Swindon Town
Torquay United
Yeovil Town
2002–2004 Calgary Storm 28 (0)
Managerial career
2014–2016 Canada U17 (assistant)
2015–2018 Calgary Foothills
2018– Cavalry FC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Wheeldon began his playing career in England with Swindon Town before moving to Torquay United.[1]

In May 2002, Wheeldon joined the Calgary Storm of the A-League to play under the management of his father, Tommy Wheeldon Sr.[2] He went on to make 28 appearances for the club across two seasons.[3] During his time as a player, he also worked as a full-time academy coach and soccer camp director for the club.[4]

Coaching career

Calgary Foothills

After the Calgary Storm folded, Wheeldon decided to remain in Canada and help develop grassroots football. After four years as a director for a local soccer academy, he joined the Calgary Foothills as assistant technical director in 2007 and was promoted to technical director a year later. In 2015, Wheeldon was named as head coach as the club joined the Premier Development League. In his second season as head coach, Wheeldon guided the team to an appearance in the PDL Championship Final before losing to the Michigan Bucks.[5] In 2016, Wheeldon received the Jack Buckler Award for outstanding contribution to the sport of soccer within Calgary and area.[6]

After having accepted the role as head coach and general manager of Cavalry FC, Wheeldon led Calgary Foothills to the 2018 PDL Championship, defeating Reading United AC 4-2.[7]

Canada Soccer

In April 2014, Wheeldon began a two-year spell as assistant coach for the Canada U17 men's national team.[8]

Cavalry FC

On 18 May 2018, Wheeldon was announced as the first head coach and general manager of Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.[9] Wheeldon signed 12 players from the Foothills to Cavalry, including captain Nik Ledgerwood and goalkeeper Marco Carducci.[10] Under Wheeldon's coaching, Cavalry won both the spring and fall seasons in the 2019 Canadian Premier League season.[11] Cavalry also made it to the semifinals of the 2019 Canadian Championship, where they lost to the Major League Soccer team Montreal Impact.[12] Along the way, Cavalry had defeated fellow Canadian Premier League sides Pacific FC and Forge FC as well as the Vancouver Whitecaps in the quarterfinals, becoming the only CPL team to win against an MLS team.[13] Wheeldon would win the CPL coach of the year for the 2019 season.[14]

Personal life

Wheeldon was born in Liverpool, England.[15] His father, Tommy Wheeldon Sr, was a professional footballer who represented Everton and England Under-18s.[16]

He attended the University of Surrey to study sports science and coaching.[4]

Wheeldon is a lifelong Everton supporter.[17]

Career statistics

Player
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Calgary Storm 2002[3] A-League 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
2003[3] 21 0 0 0 0 0 21 0
Total 28 0 0 0 0 0 28 0
Career total 28 0 0 0 0 0 28 0

Manager
As of 27 April 2023
Managerial record by club and tenure
Team From To Record
M W D L GF GA GD Win %
Calgary Foothills17 May 20154 August 2018 64 38 16 10 106 60 +46 059.38
Cavalry FC17 May 2018present 114 58 26 30 160 114 +46 050.88
Total 178 96 42 40 266 174 +92 053.93

Honours

Calgary Foothills

  • USL League Two
    • Champions: 2018
    • Western Conference Champions: 2016, 2018
    • Northwest Division Champions: 2016, 2018

Cavalry

Individual

References
  1. "Tommy Wheeldon Jr. – Technical Director". www.calgaryfoothillssoccer.com. Calgary Foothills FC. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. Wilson, Jock (19 May 2018). "Cavalry head coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr". omny.fm. Global News Radio. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  3. "Thomas Wheeldon". soccerstats.us. Soccer Stats. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  4. Wheeldon Jr, Tommy. "Tommy Wheeldon Jr on LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  5. Kostanuick, Adam (13 April 2018). "Tommy Wheeldon Jr. leads Calgary Foothills FC into 2018 PDL season". Northern Starting XI. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  6. 2017 Annual Report (PDF). Calgary United Soccer Association. 2017. p. 12.
  7. "Calgary Foothills FC win 2018 PDL championship". Total Soccer Project. 4 August 2018.
  8. "Tommy Wheeldon". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  9. Austin, Daniel (18 May 2018). "'Cavalry FC' the Canadian Premier League team in Calgary". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. "Cavalry FC's success stems from Foothills FC's band of brothers". Calgary Sun. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  11. "'Today, we celebrate': Cavalry clinches Fall title with Al Classico win". Canadian Premier League. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  12. "Impact down Cavalry to advance to Canadian Championship final - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  13. "Cavalry bounce Whitecaps from Canadian Championship - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  14. John Molinaro (26 November 2019). "Cavalry FC's Tommy Wheeldon Jr. named CPL's Coach of the Year".
  15. Jeffrey, Andrew (30 October 2017). "Tommy Wheeldon, Jr. – Top 40 Under 40". www.avenuecalgary.com. Avenue Calgary. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  16. "Tommy Wheeldon". www.kitsoncoaching.co.uk. Kits On Coaching. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  17. "Owner Profile". cavalryfc.canpl.ca. Cavalry Football Club. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
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