Coaches

George Velarde (Head Coach)
Coach Velarde is entering his 30th year of coaching Cross Country/Track and Field. He received his Bachelor of Science from Point Loma Nazarene University in 1994 and his Masters degree from Azusa Pacific University in 2002. He ran Cross Country and Track for Central Union High and in college at Cal State San Bernardino and Point Loma Nazarene University. He has been married to his wife Erica for 28 years and has 2 children: Jacob and Jayson. He has taught Physical Education at Pacific Beach Middle School, Jordan Middle School and at Sierra Vista Jr. High School. He was the Physical Education Department Chair at Sierra Vista Jr. High School for their Nationally Recognized Physical Education program. In his spare time he plays Frisbee golf, basketball, watching movies and rooting for his Favorite Sport Teams: L.A. Lakers, USC Trojans (Football), New York Yankees, San Francisco 49ers, and the Duke Blue Devils (Men's Basketball). In 2009, he was named the Physical Education Teacher of the Year for the State of California. Over the years, he has spoken to: US Congress at our Nation's Capitol, was a speaker at the 1st Global Conference for Sports and Science in Taiwan, he has spoken with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bill Clinton regarding Health and Physical Education.

Chris Jackson (Head Coach)
Coach Jackson has been coaching for twenty years at Canyon on the cross country and track teams. He is currently coaching the throws and the high jump. He has also been teaching math at Canyon (teaching all levels, but greatly loving AP Statistics). He ran cross country and track at Morro Bay High School. He attended college at Point Loma Nazarene University ('96), and earned a M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary ('99).
He has been married to his wife Samantha for 18 years and has four children, all adopted from foster care. At Canyon, he is the club sponsor for Student Task Force (a Human Rights Watch club), and the Red Cross club. He serves on the board for Children's Bureau.

Coach Sandy Lanning is joining the Canyon High Track Coaching staff as the Hurdles Coach. Sandy is a native of Tylertown, Mississippi. Sandy has enjoyed running since she was a little girl. She was the 1995 Mississippi 300 meter hurdle 4A Champion and was on the two time Girls 4A State Championship Team. She attended Mississippi State University and competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) running the 100 hurdles and 4X100 meter relay. She earned a bachelor of science degree in Chemical Engineering. Sandy is the Site Quality Engineering and Systems Manager of Eaton Aerospace. Sandy has been married to her husband Delano for 8 years and has two boys; Alexander and Khalil. Sandy is the Founder and President of the Flying Phoenix Youth Track and Cross Country Club where she coaches the 8 and under age group and hurdles. Sandy has been coaching Youth Track for 8 years and really enjoys sharing her knowledge of the sport with athletes.

Jason Craig
Jason was a 4 year varsity track athlete in high jump, triple jump and long jump at Diamond Bar High School. He is also the long jump and assistant sprint coach for Flying Phoenix Youth Track Club. He received his degree in Political Science from Arizona State University in 2005. He works as Practice Technology Sr Analyst for Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. In his free time Jason enjoys spending time with his daughter Christa (13) and watching sports and movies.

Dave DeLong
Coach DeLong has been coaching for 34 years, 32 of them at Canyon High School and 2 years at Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. He began his running career in high school running a 4:17 in the 1600m, then in college running a 14:55 in the 5,000m and a 4:10 in the 1600m. He attended USC and graduated from Point Loma Nazarene College in 1984. From there he began his first teaching job at Jordan Jr. High in Burbank, CA, then 2 years at Burroughs High School, and has spent the last 30 years teaching math at Canyon High School. He has competed in several marathons, with a PR at age 35 of 2:54. He placed 100th at the Boston Marathon in 1996. He’s been married to his wife Lisa for 35+ years and has 3 children; Jessica, Joelle, and Jacob. In his spare time, you can find him in the Jacuzzi, playing golf, or spending time with his family or alumni runners. You may find him driving down the road in his Arcimoto on the way to the golf course.

Frank Rock (Retired in 2019, but back with us now!): Coach Rock has been coaching the pole vault at Canyon for 30 years. Prior to that he coached a year each at Burbank High school, Occidental College, Boise State College and COC. He grew locally where he graduated from Hart in 1968. There he competed in football, wrestling and track and set the then school record of 14 feet in the pole vault. From there he spent 2 years at Glendale CC where he set the college's record of 15'6" and was twice WSC champion. He was awarded a scholarship to San Jose State University where he earned a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice Administration with a minor in Recreation and Leisure Studies in 1973. While competing 3 years for SJSU Frank vaulted a best of 16'6". He was the PCAA champion, placed 5th(tie) at the NCAA finals and 6th at the AAU (now USA Track) Nationals. For that he was ranked 8th in the nation in 1973 by Track and Field News. The next year he jumped a PR of 17 feet in club competition earning him a spot on the world list. Coach Rock lives in Canyon Country with his wife/college sweetheart of 43 years Carol. Together they raised 3 Canyon graduates. Sarah ('98), Kerry ('00), and Casey ('05). They are proud grandparents of Sadie and Wyatt. He is a professional artist/muralist with some of his work on display in Old Town Newhall. For 25 years he has been involved with the Canyon Theatre Guild and is an expert tour guide and lecturer on the St. Francis Dam Disaster of 1928. Frank promised to return as our home PV judge for all of our home meets. See you soon!

Dwain Whalen has been coaching our sprinters for the past 2 seasons.

Canyon Track is always looking for event coaches. If you are interested in becoming a track coach, please contact
George Velarde at 661-713-5496 or email me at gvelarde@hartdistrict.org
All coaches must get certified by the Wm S. Hart Union School District
To to this, there are a few (12) hoops you will need to jump through:

1. Coaching Clearance Form/Contact Information (CLICK HERE)
2. Attend the district coaching classes.
3. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (https://www.nfhslearn.com/courses/61032/sudden-cardiac-arrest)
4. Concussion Awareness (https://www.nfhslearn.com/courses/61064/concussion-in-sports)
5. Sexual Harassment Login at https://hartdistrict-keenan.safeschools.com/login
6. Mandated Reporter Login at https://hartdistrict-keenan.safeschools.com/login
7. Workplace Bullying Login at https://hartdistrict-keenan.safeschools.com/login
8. CPR I suggest SimpleCPR at https://simplecpr.com/ or ecprcertification at http://www.ecprcertification.com/
9. First Aid I suggest SimpleCPR at https://simplecpr.com/ or ecprcertification at http://www.ecprcertification.com/
10. Fingerprinting
11. TB Test
12. Heat Illness Prevention: https://nfhslearn.com/courses/61140/heat-illness-prevention