Coaches

Coach Wheeler

Founder of

Whale Basketball

Coach Wheeler grew up playing competitive soccer for 6 years as a kid. When he got to Jr. High he was forced to go to a completely different school than most of his friends. He was shy, timid, and unsure of himself. Not knowing anyone was a hard transition for him at that age. Until basketball changed everything...

He grew up going to Utah Jazz games with his grandparents getting to witness some of the greatest figures in basketball history, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and Michael Jordan. Going to these games with his grandparents made him fall in love with the game of basketball. He decided when he reached Jr. High that he wanted to try out for the basketball team. Having only played basketball in the driveway with his brother, friends, and family he didn't know the basic fundamentals of the game. It was obvious. His years playing on a competitive soccer team gave him an advantage though, he knew how to work hard.

Years later his Jr. High Coach told him that he was the last 7th grader picked for the basketball team. Looking back Coach Wheeler looks at this as one of the most pivotal moments in his life. Being on the basketball team gave him an identity. He was no longer that shy kid who sat in the back corner of class.

Coach Wheeler went on to become captain of North Davis' 2005 basketball team. He lead North Davis to its first championship game in School History.

Later he went on to Clearfield High School starting and lettering Varsity all three years. His senior year Clearfield upset Pleasant Grove in the playoffs. Coach Wheeler was assigned to guard the leading scorer in the state, C.J. Wilcox , who has played in the NBA for the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers. Defense was Coach Wheeler's specialty.

It only takes one coach who believes in you to become great. Coach Wheeler is confident he can be the coach for you or your child!

Coach Wheeler is an Impact certified coach.

Read more about Impact Basketball below:

The IMPACT Story

BEFORE IMPACT - When Joe was on Coach Bob Knight's Indiana staff, he learned first-hand the value of skill development. The Hoosiers played an entire season without a called, set plays and they won more games over a four-year span than any other team in Big Ten history, including a trip to the 1992 Final Four. The secret was a commitment by each player and the staff to developing skills through the fundamentals and being in elite shape, focusing on strength and speed.

TURNING POINT - In the summer of 1997 Joe almost moved into college coaching circuit. Unexpectedly, he had the chance to train Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett, two future Hall of Famers. Based on Joe's unique training style, Chauncey and Kevin showed significant improvements in a short period of time. From there, Joe was inspired to launch his unique style of coaching and training and give up the X's and O's.

As A Sidenote: In the early days, Joe's unique kind of basketball training was unknown as a profession. Joe was employed by multiple NBA teams, including both the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors during the same season. Today, an NBA team is likely to have 3-6 development coaches and Trainers on their staff, even sending them to live in the same city as their players during the off-season. Joe was and still is the pioneer of this science known as basketball player development.

TODAY - Joe and his Impact team often train over half the NBA Lottery picks immediately after the NCAA season concludes each year. Many current NBA stars spend their off-seasons training at Impact's Las Vegas super facility every summer. Many of these stars rely on Joe and Impact throughout their entire season to keep them sharp and playing at an elite level.

Joe and his crew also train thousands of young basketball players at the Impact's year-round Academy in Sarasota, Florida as well as Summer Camps in their three world-class facilities. They host clinics for the AAU Basketball organization as well as supports many other leading basketball companies and groups. Every year, dozens of foreign professional and national teams come to Impact to learn and prepare for some of the biggest basketball events around the world.

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