George Velarde (Head Coach)
Coach Velarde is entering his 31st year of coaching Cross Country/Track and Field. He has been with the Canyon coaching staff since 2002 and has been the Head Coach since 2016. 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 taught Physical Education at Pacific Beach Middle School, Jordan Middle School, Sierra Vista Jr. High School and currently at Canyon High School.  He was the Physical Education Department Chair at Sierra Vista Jr. High School for their Nationally Recognized Physical Education program. 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 track team.  He is currently coaching the pole vault.  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 20 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).  He serves on the board for All for Kids.
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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.
​John Elam is a Canyon alum from 2017 who is in his second year of coaching and Canyon (CHS). Prior to his time at CHS, he competed in the Big Sky Conference for Idaho State University (ISU) (2017-2019) and in Conference USA for Western Kentucky University (WKU)(2020-2023). He has personal best marks of 16.09 m (shot), 44.08 m (disc), 53.97 m (hammer), 16.63 m (weight throw) and was named Graduate Scholar Athlete of the Year and Graduate Teacher of the year for WKU in 2023. At WKU, he was coached and mentored by head coach Brent Chumbley who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. Brent's expertise, coaching style, and human first approach is at the heart of John's coaching philosophy. His degree focuses were in Russian International Affairs, Modern British History, and American Popular Culture and completed his thesis in 2023, "When Russia Gets Tired of Them, They Sell Them to Us..." The Russian Five, US Russophobia, and Cold War Rhetoric After 1991.John received his B.A. in History and Political Science in 2021 and M.A. in History in 2023 from WKU with honors.

During his time at Canyon, he posted best marks of 53-7 (shot) and 169-3 (discs) and is 7th and 4th all time respectively in Canyon history. Outside of coaching, John is a Payroll Manager for Dynamic Home Care and adjunct professor of history at WKU where he was nominated for part time faculty teacher of the year in 2024. During his free time, John enjoys spending time with family, spending time with his girlfriend Alyson, playing golf, and traveling.
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!

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 [email protected]
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