East Jackson’s Wheeler Focused On Being Great In All Aspects

Following East Jackson’s blowout win over Social Circle last Friday night, Wesley Wheeler was overjoyed at how his team had just played, improving to 2-0 on the season. He also couldn’t wait to find his three biggest fans.

His wife and their two young children were waiting on the sideline for their customary postgame hugs and kisses.

 

“So, it was always my mom, and then I met my wife,” Wheeler said. “I always thought it was great to see my mom, because I am a momma’s boy. Make no mistake. But then to see my wife (Ashley) was great. But there is nothing better. It makes a win that much better and a loss okay when they come running out. They are just happy to see Dad on the field. But to run out and get a hug, it is one of those things that nobody can understand unless they have kids.”

 

 

That feeling he gets on Friday nights after football games is one Wheeler loves, and he admits he looks up to college coaches who prioritize it as well.

 

“You see that one reaction with them, and that is it,” Wheeler said. “I am not a Clemson fan, but I admire Dabo Swinney through and through. It goes to how he believes in coaching kids to also believing in having a family. Kirby (Smart) is the same way; his son is at everything. 

 

“Coach (Cameron) Pettus harps on it. Listen, on Sundays when it hits 4 o’clock, you better be close to being done with your work. It is ‘get out of here and go see your family’. That is a huge blessing.”

 

Given his schedule as a teacher and coach, Wheeler admits he has to be very intentional about his time with his family, as does every teacher who coaches or sponsors a club within a school. The time away from family makes the moments they get extra special, like on a football field following a big win in the early part of the high school football season.

 

For Wheeler, who is in his 18th year of teaching, being a teacher and a varsity athletic coach is his professional calling. It is a career that brings him joy, and one he is extremely passionate about. He began his teaching career after brief stints in car sales, which he admits helped him craft building relationships and talking to people he doesn’t know, and landscaping. His first teaching assignment was at East Jackson Middle School, where he spent 10 years. He then transitioned to East Jackson Comprehensive High School.

 

Wheeler notes that he is certified to teach in nearly every middle school subject, special education and now physical education at the secondary level.

 

“I have way too many certifications,” joked Wheeler. “I got into teaching to coach football. When you’re not in the game, it drives you crazy. And then I wound up loving teaching through coaching. It is one of the same. You’re teaching, it is just different materials.”

 

Wheeler’s passion for teaching runs in the family. His mother and father were both educators, as are his sisters. His wife, who Wheeler admits is the ultimate coach’s wife, is an educator at East Jackson Elementary, right down the hill from the high school.

 

“I hit the wife lottery,” Wheeler said. “She is the daughter of a former coach, athletic director and then assistant principal. So she understands the coaching world, from that aspect. Coaches' wives do not get enough praise.”

 

Wheeler’s passion for teaching was recognized in September 2022, when he was named the Teacher of the Year at East Jackson Comprehensive High School, voted upon by his peers within the building. He admits he isn’t one for the spotlight and he would rather point to the amazing educators he works with each day.

 

“There are a lot of great educators who go their entire career and don’t get nominated or make the final cut,” Wheeler said. “I don’t want it to come across like I am not grateful for it, because I am. But for me to win, there are just so many great teachers inside this building that I know are absolutely phenomenal.”

 

Wheeler is widely known throughout the building by both staff and students. His energy and enthusiasm for East Jackson is contagious. From recording fun, rapid-fire question videos with head football coach Cameron Pettus to preparing for an upcoming student-staff dance-off competition, which will be held at EJCHS in September, Wheeler is in the middle of it all.

 

“I like to talk,” Wheeler said. “My parents instilled in me that I am not better than anyone else. So who am I to judge someone else for not being as fortunate as I am. It is just one of those things where I have never been allowed to look down. And we should be able to help others. I believe in relationships. They are the key to anything.

 

"The old coaching cliche is they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. That is 100 percent true. That is my teaching philosophy. Those kids are going to know that I care about them, not just while they are in my class or in this school building, but from here on out. I speak to anyone I ever see.”

 

 

Wheeler is a homegrown Jackson County product. When he was in school, there was only one high school inside the Jackson County School System — Jackson County Comprehensive High School. Wheeler is now in a unique position, as he is a coach at East Jackson, bleeding blue and silver these days.

 

He does note that he was raised in Nicholson, so he would have been an Eagle had the school been around when he was in high school. Regardless, Wheeler was a Panther and he is visible each day inside of Jackson County High School’s new building, as a plaque hangs in his honor under the Athletic Hall of Fame. Wheeler played football at Jackson County and earned a scholarship to Elon University. He was later inducted into the JCHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

“Again, it is a cool honor,” Wheeler said. “That is not my forte. I don’t care about being singled out. I am a firm believer that, A, none of those things are possible if the other 10 people are not on the field. Hence it is a team sport. Is it an honor? Absolutely it is. I am thankful for that.”

 

Wheeler’s passion for students and athletics continues to drive him. He is currently enrolled at Valdosta State University for a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. His goals are to one day be able to make an impact on a school as an athletic director.

 

For now, though, he is focused on being a great husband, father, teacher and coach. Wheeler admits his passion for students and being a good person is high, and he hopes he can continue to make a difference in the lives of his own family and the lives of the students he encounters daily.