'An absolute joy': Here's what new Canyon ISD AD John Peterson has planned in new role
There’s a new sheriff leading Canyon ISD athletics.
John Peterson was confirmed as the district’s new athletic director in a special board meeting on March 6. He’s served various roles in CISD since 2016, including as coordinator of athletics under former AD Toby Tucker, who left after becoming New Home ISD’s superintendent.
After a 12-year career in coaching and administrator roles, Peterson has finally achieved his dream.
“This has always been a lifelong goal of mine,” Peterson said. “I still can’t believe it’s happening. It’s been an absolute joy.”
Peterson has worn many hats since graduating from UT-Tyler in 2012. He was a teacher and coached football and baseball at Levelland ISD and Lubbock Monterey from 2012-15 before joining Randall in the same roles. Peterson was Randall’s junior varsity baseball coach, a varsity baseball assistant and wide receivers coach for its football team, coaching in several playoff runs for both sports.
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He then moved into administration in 2023, becoming CISD’s coordinator of athletics. Peterson learned the ropes of his new career under Tucker, and began building support amongst Canyon ISD staff, coaches and fellow administrators once he pursued superintendent roles.
“I started getting ready… because I knew there was that possibility,” Peterson said. “I knew there was support between all three of our campuses, and the outpouring of all the positive messages I received from everyone was phenomenal.”
Peterson went through multiple interviews with the CISD board before being confirmed, with Tucker’s support and his CISD history playing key factors in his hiring. He now wants to build on Tucker’s vision, but with his “own spin on it.”
He first wants to find more ways to support CISD athletes and coaches. Peterson wants to meet with teams at all three CISD high schools to find out each program’s “wants and needs”, and hopes to explore facility upgrades in the future. Plus, a focus on community service for CISD athletics.
“We have so much community support, so giving back to that community is one of my main goals,” Peterson said. “I’d like to focus on how we can be appreciative of all that support we get.”
Peterson also wants to make CISD athletics more “college-like.” He wants to hold more media events for coaches and players and increase each school’s social media presence with more engaging posts. Ahead of the 2024 football season, Peterson said he wants to improve the fan experience at Happy State Bank Stadium by adding more concession options, such as food trucks.
Peterson has a strong foundation for those plans. All three CISD schools won playoff games in football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball and softball this academic year. Randall won the UIL 4A Lone Star Cup last season and are first-place in the standings this season, with Canyon High behind them in second. The bar for CISD sports is high, but Peterson said he hopes to keep raising it.
“Across all sports… we’re doing everything the right way,” Peterson said. “We do such a good job of that, and that’s what we really want to pride ourselves on going forward.”
Peterson has several tasks to start with, including replacing Randall’s volleyball and boys’ basketball coaches after Haleigh Burns’ departure for Amarillo High and Leslie Broadhurst’s retirement. But Peterson is ready for the challenge and hopes to pour into the community that’s given him so much.
“I’m very proud of our athletics department,” Peterson said. “It's so easy to show up here because we have such great support. It truly is a dream come true.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: New Canyon ISD AD John Peterson ready to help district take next step
