FORMER defender David Wheater has started falling in love with football again — in a completely different way — after quitting as a player last year.
He and another former player, Stuart Wise, have set up their own youth W2 Football Academy, which runs twice a week at Redcar College and Stokesley Sports Club.
It offers coaching for kids aged five to 11 and has proved to be a huge hit, having started only six months ago.
Towering 6ft 5in former centre-back Wheater, 37, said: “Last year at Darlington, I just couldn’t stay fit.
“The physio was delighted when I was back training, then I’d go and warm up and pull up injured again.
“I had to be honest with myself at the end of the season.
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“I went and saw the manager and told him that my body was basically telling me to stop.
“I used to think I’d play until I was 40.
“Then I hit 30 and everything started hurting. It was horrible.”
Although he did not win a senior England cap, Wheater represented the Three Lions in all age groups from under-16s to under-21s.
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During his seven years at Middlesbrough he became known as the Redcar Rock.
He played at every level in the top five tiers of English football.
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Big Wheats said: “The only two regrets I had from my career was maybe leaving Bolton to go to Oldham in 2019.
“And the fact I never played at Wembley, either.
“I was due to play for the under-21s at the national stadium but then I picked up a daft booking in the game before.
“Then with Bolton I was on the bench. Three times I went there but never played.”
After almost two decades as a professional, starting at Boro in 2004, a new chapter was about to start.
He said: “The average age for a footballer to retire is about 36. But in the real world you’re only halfway through your working life. You cannot sit around and do nothing.
“The idea of running an academy really appealed to me rather than men’s coaching.
“It was inspired by my own growing up and having heroes like Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli at Middlesbrough.
“As a kid, I lived only minutes from Redcar College, where I am now coaching the kids.
“When you see these youngsters in the academy smiling and enjoying their football, it means everything to me.
“Don’t get me wrong, after working with them in Redcar and Stokesley, I get home and I’m absolutely exhausted.
“But it’s so rewarding and I feel a real sense of achievement. I really love it.
“I look at some of these kids as my own seven- to 11-year-old self. It was my dream to play professional football and I realised that ambition.
“Ultimately, I hope I can make some of their dreams come true too.”
Wheater joined up with Wise after their sons trained for Stokesley under-7s. Wise, 39, played for York City but a serious knee injury brought his career to a premature end.
Wheater added: “It has been great working with Stuart and we share the same love of the game and working with the youngsters.
“We just got roped in to take over and it snowballed from there.”
Now more than 100 kids attend for three hours on a Wednesday evening, with extra sessions on the cards. They have even been asked to start teams.
Wheater played alongside Gareth Southgate, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gaizka Mendieta at the Riverside.
He was called up to England’s senior squad in 2008 under Fabio Capello but did not earn a cap off the bench.
“Capello was a bit weird. I turned up and I don’t think he knew who I was.
“My playing career was one hell of a ride, capped at every level playing for England and a couple of bench appearances for the senior team.”
He laughed: “I’ve even had a shower with David Beckham, and John Terry follows me on Instagram so I’m very happy!”
And Wheater once got a hefty elbow on the nose from Wayne Rooney. “I challenged for the ball and his elbow came out of nowhere and hit me smack on the nose.
“I couldn’t dive or go over because as a bit of a hardman I never did things like that. But I’m sure he’d have got a yellow or even red card.
“I never held any grudges — at the end I asked him for his shirt!”
He has a collection of jerseys — including superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo bought at auctions.
His big hobby is wrestling figures — he has a room in his house for them.
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“When I was growing up, I was addicted to watching WWE stars like Hulk Hogan. Now I’m still obsessed with buying wrestling figurines.
“I never got into gambling, my weakness is buying these figures. My wife’s none too pleased about it.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
