Gilroy: Garlic, wrestling and field hockey

The city of Gilroy has become a center of excellence in Central Coast Section girls field hockey. In fact, with success from teams and individuals at Gilroy High and Christopher High, and club field hockey also based in Gilroy, the city is on the map for high-end success in the sport at the state and national level.

But it all started from bare grass roots. Very bare.

Adam Gemar, longtime Gilroy High coach and co-founder/leader of Infinity Sports Club, and wife Erin Gemar moved to the city and established the Gilroy Field Hockey Club in 1997. Adam Gemar had an extensive background in ice hockey and merged that with his passion for field hockey.

When he moved to Gilroy, there was little to nothing in place. Gemar began in his own way to put things together.

“We went 0-14 and slowly built our way up,” Gemar said. “I played roller hockey and ice hockey. I never played field hockey.”

The Gemars began going to camps and learning from high-end coaches. They watched national team practices. Gilroy High teams started doing better. NFL star Jeff Garcia, a Gilroy High alum, donated money to help get a turf field installed. The sport became more and more popular, numbers grew, and the teams began winning big. Covid put a damper on all sports for a while but field hockey kept rolling.

Gemar’s Mustang teams became a powerhouse in the Central Coast Section. One of his all-time best players was Dani Hemeon Perez (then Dani Hemeon) and she, Gilroy ’11, became an All-American at the University of Iowa and part of the USA Women’s National Development Team. Perez returned to the area and became the head coach at Christopher and the Cougars have similarly become a powerhouse in the CCS.

In the last seven seasons, excluding the brief Covid campaign of 2020, Gilroy High has racked up a superb 58-12-6 record, while the Cougars’ mark is 55-14-4. Both have qualified for the CCS playoffs seven years running.

The Mustangs’ playoff performance is even more incredible. Going back to the fall of 2008, excluding Covid, they have reached the CCS playoffs in 15 straight years and have advanced to two finals and seven semifinals.

Christopher is on an upward trajectory, with a final, a semifinal and two quarterfinals in the last four seasons.

“We play all the private schools in CCS,” Gemar said. “And Los Gatos is always great. It’s kinda amazing that Gilroy is a great field hockey town. We do club together and run it together. We run soccer and field hockey. It’s what you put in. The chemistry there is spot-on. It’s amazing. The girls are all close friends.”

Gemar and Perez run Infinity as a team, and it is a foundational piece for the entire city. The club offers field hockey teams and also soccer.

“It’s fun, period,” Gemar said. “That’s my number one goal. Some girls want college, some don’t. Some want to hang with their friends. Dani and I are on the same page. We want to be competitive. We do everything from basics to high-end. Some go to the next level. Some come because their friends are here. Family is the name of the game.”

The club results for Infinity are extremely impressive, with superb regional and national performances at the assorted age groups. In 2023, the U19 team captured the gold medal in the prestigious California Cup International Tournament. It was their first-ever gold, following up on a fine bronze medal performance in 2022.

Sixteen of the 17 team members were current or former Gilroy and Christopher players. The squad’s members were Jade Moncada, Ella Miura, Angelene Castro, Lily Lerma, Kaitlyn Nguyen, Jamie Dempsey, Kamryn Krejdovsky, Madison Krejdovsky, Kaylin Battaglia, Alexa Booth, Alliya Camacho, Sophie Gonzalez, Addison Tate, Annelise Lerma, Caitlynn Holt, Dominique Flores and Erin Castro.

In 2022, the Infinity U14 field hockey team won its division in the California Cup tournament. That team beat a powerful Houston-based team for the title. Infinity defeated its first five opponents by a cumulative score of 22-0. In the final, they tied Texas Pride 2-2 and won in penalty strokes.

“We’re one family from February to May, which just strengthens the high school teams come August,” Perez said. “I’m so proud that Gilroy is a field hockey town. It’s all thanks to Adam and Erin Gemar. Being a part of the ‘Gilroy’ hockey family both as a player and a coach has been one of my greatest joys and I’m glad I get to continue growing the game in such a great community alongside my biggest mentor.”

Individual awards have been many. A large number of the athletes have moved on to play in college, often with scholarships.

Last year, Christopher’s Katie Garrison was named first team All-West by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. That team covered California, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Of the 16 players, only four were from California and Garrison was the only one outside of the San Diego area.

Five Infinity players were selected to the U18 and U16 teams in the Nexus Junior Championships. The top players to advance out of the Nexus Championship could participate in the Junior Olympics.

There are many college opportunities in field hockey, although few are in the western United States. Nonetheless, many Gilroy and Christopher student-athletes have continued on in college, including local schools such as Cal and UC Davis. Garrison will attend the University of New Hampshire.

Many of the athletes, whether continuing in college or not, cite the foundation, learning and support they received in the city of Gilroy.

“I know that my time at Christopher pushed me to pursue an advancement to college athletics,” UC Davis’s Jordan Anaya said. “I wouldn’t be where I am without Coach Dani and all her support. She prepared me to play at the college level and doing so has given me so many memories and life-long friendships.”