As we continue through the school year, there are many teachers who deserve the spotlight. The teacher/coach who has caught my attention the most is George Velarde. He is our sophomore P.E. teacher as well as the Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach here at Canyon.

He is very caring to all his students, and he puts a lot of effort into the work he does. Because of this, he has many friends across campus.

However, Velarde hasn’t always been teaching at Canyon. He first worked at Sierra Vista for 14 years, then moved to Canyon High School. He has been coaching at Canyon since 2002 and started working as a P.E. teacher in 2017.

I got the chance to interview Velarde and first asked, “What brings you the most joy as a P.E. teacher?” He responded, “What brings me the most joy is seeing the improvement of maturity in our students. Seeing them improve on their skills on a specific unit and see the opportunity to get to know them at a personal level.” Clearly, he is determined as a teacher and only wants the best for his students.

In addition to Velarde’s passion for teaching P.E., he also loves his role as a track coach. He explained that he enjoys “seeing all the hard work and dedication that a track athlete does, and for them to get rewarded by running PR’s is very gratifying.” With all of the incredible wins and success our track team has, these efforts from both the students and coaches are clear.

Regarding track, he has also witnessed his athletes improve over the course of their high school careers. Velarde shared, “It’s no secret that, in order for my athletes to improve, it involves consistent dedication and a lot of hard work.”

This hard work is especially evident in Canyon’s performance in CIFs over the past few decades. Velarde explained that he has had a team or an individual make it to CIF every year since 2002, which is very impressive.

Luckily for us, Velarde has no plans to leave Canyon anytime soon! When asked what continues to motivate him to continue teaching and coaching, he answered, “This is my 30th year teaching physical education and coaching. I enjoy being around my colleagues and being around motivated athletes. Seeing them mature into young adults is pretty cool!”

Mr. Velarde is a very motivated teacher and coach, and only wants the utmost best for his students and athletes. So, if you are an upcoming sophomore, you might be lucky and get the opportunity of getting Mr. Velarde as your P.E. teacher. Or, if you like running, you might want to try out for Track and Field!