Coaches

George Velarde (Head Coach)
Coach Velarde is entering his 26th 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 20 years and has 2 children: Jacob (19) and Jayson (16). He has taught Physical Education at Pacific Beach Middle School, Jordan Middle School and at Sierra Vista Jr. High School. He is 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)
My wife, Samantha, and I have four children. I've been teaching math and coaching at Canyon for seventeen years. As I get older, I keep getting slower. Probably because I enjoy Starbucks a little too much. I ran cross country and track at Morro Bay High School. I attended college at Point Loma from 92 to 96 I completed a double major in religion and business. I attended graduate school at Princeton Theological Seminary from 96 to 99 earning a M.Div degree. I then worked as a youth pastor for three years in Lake Elsinore, taught junior high math in Hacienda La Puente for a year, then came to Canyon. At Canyon, I am the club sponsor for Student Task Force (a Human Rights Watch club), and the Red Cross club. I have lost most of my hobbies, as we've had more kids. ...

Dave DeLong
Coach DeLong has been coaching for 24 years, 22 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 20 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 25+ 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 screaming for more ice-cream as he watches his favorite movie “It’s A Beautiful Life.”

Frank Rock (Retired in 2019): 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.

Jacob Hetrick joins our staff this year as our new pole vault coach. Coach Hetrick attended Bayfield High School in Colorado, where he was a 4 time state competitor in the pole vault and ranked Colorado #1 and named team MVP as a senior. He went on to compete as a student athlete for Colorado School of Mines, before transferring to Fort Lewis College where he trained and competed independently. He began coaching pole vault and sprints for 5 years and assisted cross-country for 3 years at Durango High School in Durango, CO. He also worked to establish the women's track and field team at Fort Lewis College, the inaugural varsity season taking place in 2015. One athlete, Sky Webb, went on to set the NCAA DII Indoor National Record in the 800m and won multiple 800m national titles with UCCS.
During his college career, he trained and developed his coaching strategies under coach Pat Manson, US #1 in 1996 and 1997, and Rory Quiller, the 2008 NCAA National Champion. Since his graduation in 2016, he has trained under the 1997 World Bronze Medalist Dean Starkey with the Arizona Pole Vault Academy.

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