The sun was shining bright. The parking lot was full. Three different fields were alive with fans and athletes. Landrum baseball, softball and soccer were playing home games at the same time. In the middle of all that, Landrum Athletic Director John Cann was on and off the school’s Gator, busy making sure everything was running smoothly.
To his coaching staff that hard work is a definitive characteristic of Cann, who was recently named Class A Athletic Director of the Year in South Carolina. He also won Region 2A Athletic Director of the Year for the third time.
“Coach Cann has worked very hard and many hours,” Landrum football coach Russell Mahaffey said. “He cares about the kids. He cares about the program running well.”
Mahaffey would know. Cann has been at Landrum High School for 10 years and Mahaffey has been with him all 10. Cann coached the football team for seven years and has been athletic director for nine. Cann handed over the reins of the football team to Mahaffey three years ago.
Cann’s tenure at Landrum has been successful. The Cardinals have had 14 graduates playing nine different sports at 14 different colleges from Pennsylvania to Georgia Southern. Two of those athletes are Cann’s kids, Caroline (Presbyterian College) and Mark (Marshall).
The Cardinals have also won 10 state championships in that span.
One of things Cann is most proud of is the facilities. At every sporting event you can see the Cardinal AD roaming and monitoring the facilities.
“I like to watch teams the first time they come here,” he said. “They’re blown away by our facilities.”
While the award he received on the surface appears to be an individual award, that’s not the case according to Cann.
“The whole coaching and support staff is sharing in this honor,” he said.