| Fullname: | Thomas Wheeldon Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 3 May 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Liverpool, England |
| Currentclub: | Cavalry FC (head coach) |
| Position: | Defender |
| Clubs1: | Swindon Town |
| Clubs2: | Torquay United |
| Clubs3: | Yeovil Town |
| Years4: | 2002–2004 |
| Clubs4: | Calgary Storm |
| Caps4: | 28 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Manageryears1: | 2014–2016 |
| Managerclubs1: | Canada U17 (assistant) |
| Manageryears2: | 2015–2018 |
| Managerclubs2: | Calgary Foothills |
| Manageryears3: | 2018– |
| Managerclubs3: | Cavalry FC |
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.
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]
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]
In April 2014, Wheeldon began a two-year spell as assistant coach for the Canada U17 men's national team.[8]
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]
During the 2023 CPL campaign, Wheeldon led Cavalry to the victory of the regular season, and won his second Coach of the Year Award as a result.[15] [16]
Wheeldon was born in Liverpool, England.[17] His father, Tommy Wheeldon Sr, was a professional footballer who represented Everton and England Under-18s.[18]
He attended the University of Surrey to study sports science and coaching.
Wheeldon is a lifelong Everton supporter.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Calgary Storm | 2002 | A-League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 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 | |||
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2015 | 4 August 2018 | |||||||||
| 17 May 2018 | present | |||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
Calgary Foothills
Cavalry
Individual