Interview with Tommy Wheeldon Jr
The last couple of weeks have been really busy, and so I'm so happy to finally be able to release this interview with Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
To be honest, I still cannot believe that my Dad and I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Tommy Wheeldon Jr. – and have watched it over and over again!
The first time I ever spoke with Tommy was during an early-round Island Games press conference where Cavalry FC played against FC Edmonton. We were able to set up an interview with Tommy Wheeldon Jr via email after connecting on with him on Twitter.
During the press conference, I asked Tommy what he had thought of Elliot Simmons' performance that game.
When answering my question, Tommy gave me such a detailed answer – he talked more about Elliot and their decision to bring him to the football club, his passing, and probing.
I then asked a follow-up question, and he then expanded on Elliot’s role in the club as their “regista” – their quarterback. Something that I really loved about his answer was that he really took the time to explain the “why” behind his decisions.
So we jumped when we got the chance to have a one-on-one with Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
During the interview, Tommy was thoughtful, jovial and shared a lot of golden nuggets.
His explanations, made me see things in different ways, and some of the things I had to really “think” about. I had so many questions for Tommy, and because his answers were so interesting and it made me think about MORE QUESTIONS, I could have kept talking to him for hours.
One of the things that I love about Tommy is that when he talks about football you can hear the passion and his love of the game so much.
In this interview, he explains that his love of soccer came later in his life than most kids. That really surprised me because of the passion and love he has for the game, but it was interesting to see his development; first as a young boy spending time in the football dressing room with his father, to his own playing career, his apprenticeship at 16 and earning his first coaching license at the early age of 17, to the present day and what are his hopes and dreams are for the future.
We covered many things during the hour (see the timestamp below for the details) and some of the highlights of the interview were talking Everton and EPL football with Tommy, his recruitment strategy, and what he looks for in his players (intangible skills and the personality test) and his advice for footballers who are on trial.
I personally really enjoyed him dissecting the parts of the game down as well as asking him for his thoughts on what made Spain's Golden Generation so good (the reason I fell in love with football) and getting to know him on a more personal level – one of my favourite parts is asking him some fun RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS which you definitely have to check out!
As a young kid with aspirations to play professional soccer, I loved talking football with Tommy because I wanted to know more about his perspective on football – seriously, just the way he talks about it, you can't help but be drawn in and all you want to do is listen.
So sit down, grab a snack (I recommend some popcorn – my favourite) and enjoy this interview with Cavalry FC Head Coach and General Manager, Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
