McCanna was born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania and attended Western Carolina University on a football scholarship. McCanna was an assistant wrestling and football coach at Western Guilford High School (1981-87), Reidsville High School (1987-93), Scotland High School (1994), and Trinity High School (1995). It was at Trinity under wrestling Coach Norman Askew that McCanna realized his true love for coaching wrestling. This led to his return to Scotland High School in1995 where he would serve as head wrestling coach until his retirement in 2015. McCanna won over 300 dual meets at Scotland and coached multiple state champions, including 2X all-American and national champion Nick Kee. In a program that did not have middle school wrestling, McCanna's teams won multiple conference championships and one regional championship. McCanna and his wife Lee reside in Laurinburg. They have two sons: Micah and Colby, who both wrestled for their father at Scotland High School.