Baseball Coach of Year: Gary Remiker

San Diego Cathedral Catholic’s Gary Remiker exhults shortly after his team won CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship. Photo: Twitter.com.

For more on this year’s Medium Schools & Small Schools State Baseball Coaches of the Year, CLICK HERE.

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As an AP Statistics teacher at Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego, Gary Remiker knows a lot about data analysis.

He’s also been the baseball coach for the Dons since 2005 when they were formed from their previous school – University of San Diego – and before that was the head coach for five years there.

So after analyzing the data for this season’s top contenders for the Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year honor, the stats show that Remiker is the one.

In being selected for the statewide award, Remiker becomes the third winner from the CIF San Diego Section in the last five years, joining James Davis from Granite Hills of El Cajon from 2014 and Steve Vickery from El Capitan of Lakeside.

“I think there tends to be a lot of good players in San Diego so sometimes it makes some of us coaches look like geniuses,” Remiker said on Friday when informed he would be this year’s honoree. “And being a San Diegan myself I have a great passion for baseball. In this environment of great competition it breeds great passion.”

This also is the second time in three years that Cathedral Catholic has taken home one of the two major State Coach of the Year honors for the spring. In 2014, Margaret Mauro was the top choice among softball coaches.

Remiker was a coach and teacher for five years at University of San Diego High before the current school Cathedral Catholic opened in 2005. Photo: cathedralcatholic.org.

“We had won other division titles before, but it was a goal of ours for a long time to win at the highest level,” Remiker said. “Some of those teams we felt were the best (in the section) but were unable to prove it.”

It wasn’t a steam-roller season for the Dons, however. A three-game losing streak at the end of April dropped their record to 15-8. Then came a 5-1 win over arch-rival St. Augustine and they then won eight of their next nine and didn’t drop a game in the double-elimination section playoffs.

“It seems like in every baseball season you’re always going to go through a rough patch,” Remiker said. “But based on our experience as coaches and because we had great senior leadership we knew it was a temporary thing. We just refocused, got back to the fundamentals.”

During his 16 years as a head coach, Remiker has coached players such as No. 1 overall MLB draft pick Brady Aiken, who was selected by the Houston Astros with the first pick in the 2014 Draft. Other recent top draft picks from Cathedral Catholic have been John Cresto (2015), Stephen Gonsalves (2013), Alex Schick (2013), Dan Camarena (2011) and Matthew Moynihan (2009).

Before he replaced longtime head coach Dick Serrano at University, Remiker also worked with a lot of top players as an assistant coach. In his first year at the school, senior Barry Zito was on the team. He went on to USC and in 2002 with the Oakland Athletics won the American League Cy Young Award. Two more of those players were pitcher Mark Prior, the No. 2 pick in the 2001 MLB draft (who was in college at USC at the time) while another was former MLB outfielder Carlos Quentin.

“It was an easy transition from assistant to head coach because I got 100 percent support from Dick,” said Remiker, who played for Serrano himself at Uni before going on to college at UC San Diego. “It was the last year we had Carlos so he decided to go out with him. He wanted me to get the job and I had 100 percent support from the administration.”

In addition to his duties as an AP Statistics teacher at the school, Remiker stays busy as a dad to his twins – 11-year-olds Eric and Leeann – and as a supportive husband to a busy wife, San Diego County Deputy Public Defender Marissa Remiker.

Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the inspirational support that Remiker and the Cathedral Catholic squad received during the season from baseball player Brycen Newman, who was supposed to be on the JV team this season but for many months has been battling brain cancer.

Newman continues to struggle, according to Remiker, but he was well enough to be in the dugout for many games later in the season.

“He was there in the game that got us going after that rough patch,” Remiker said. “After that game, we got rolling. We pray he beats cancer and can one day return to school and return to the field.”

Note: To check out a GoFundMe page to support Brycen Newman, CLICK HERE.

Last year’s winner, John Donohue, is now enjoying retirement after a successful teaching and coaching career. Photo: cifsf.org.

2016 — Gary Remiker, San Diego Cathedral Catholic (25-9)
2015 — John Donohue, San Francisco Lowell (25-8)
2014 — James Davis, El Cajon Granite Hills (26-7)
2013 — Jeff Carlson, Elk Grove (29-5)
2012 — Steve Vickery, Lakeside El Capitan (31-7)
2011 ¬— John Goulding, Union City James Logan (24-4)
2010 — Tom Donald, Clovis Buchanan (29-5)
2009 — Pete Jensen, San Mateo Serra (30-6)
2008 — Jeff Phillips, La Mesa Grossmont (29-7)
2007 — John Diatte, San Jose Valley Christian (33-4)
2006 — Spud O’Neil, Lakewood (29-5-1)
2005 — Bill Hutton, San Jose Mitty (28-6)
2004 — Rick Steen, Danville San Ramon Valley
(25-8)
2003 — Justin Machado, Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (32-1)
2002 — Dave Currie, Santa Clara Wilcox (34-3)
2001 — Tom Muesborn, Chatsworth (31-2)
2000 — Harry Jenkins, Torrance West (29-2)
1999 — Joe Walters, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (27-1-1)
1998 — James Patrick, Clovis (33-2)
1997 — Dave Brunell, Santa Maria St. Joseph (29-0)
1996 — Dennis Pugh, San Diego Mission Bay (29-5)
1995 — Dave Demarest, Westminster La Quinta (28-3-1)
1994 — Ron LaRuffa, Fountain Valley (27-3-1)
1993 — Mike Maio, Woodland Hills El Camino Real (24-2)
1992 — Dan Peters, Long Beach Millikan (22-5-1)
1991 — Jeff Meredith, La Mesa Grossmont (28-1)
1990 — Mickey McNamee, San Marino (23-2-1)
1989 — Sam Blalock, San Diego Mt. Carmel (25-2)
1988 — Chris Sims, Moraga Campolindo (24-5)
1987 — Don Ardissone, San Jose Bellarmine (26-7)
1986 — Mike Curran, Anaheim Esperanza (25-3-1)
1985 — Dave Perkins, Hanford (23-5)
1984 — Darryl Stroh, Granada Hills (16-2-1)
1983 — Larry Quirico, El Cerrito (27-1)
1982 — Jim Garrett, Tulare (21-5)
1981 — Guy Anderson, Rancho Cordova (28-8)
1980 — Mike Noakes, Fresno Bullard (29-2)
1979 — John Bachman, Covina (27-3)
1978 — Al Endriss, Larkspur Redwood (30-5)
1977 — Lou Zuardo, South S.F. El Camino (28-1)
1976 — John Herbold, Lakewood (22-4-1)
1975 — Jack Hannah, Fresno Hoover (29-2)
1974 — Jim O’Brien, Torrance North (26-6-1)
1973 — John Stevenson, El Segundo (30-5)
1972 — Hi LaValle, Compton Dominguez (22-4-1)
1971 — Denny Holt, Sepulveda Monroe (19-0)
1970 — Dan Bodary, Lompoc (27-1)
1969 — Bob Myers, Long Beach Millikan (21-6)
1968 — Bill Sandback, San Diego Crawford (21-7)
1967 — Marvin Wood, Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-3)
1966 — Bill Cox, Oakland St. Elizabeth (23-5)
1965 — Al Exton, Arcadia (21-4)
1964 — Bob Zuber, Van Nuys Birmingham (18-1)
1963 — Bill Kelly, Redondo Beach Aviation (20-3)
1962 — Dick Sperbeck, Sacramento Bishop Armstrong (22-2)
1961 — Elmo Ferrari, Ojai Villanova (17-0)
1960 — Jake Abbott, Fresno Roosevelt (20-2)
1959 — Howard Johnson, Inglewood Morningside (20-6)
1958 — Ken Proctor, Ontario Chaffey (20-5)
1957 — Ollie Bidwell, Fresno (22-2)
1956 — Bill Ziegler, Eureka (18-0)
1955 — Bob Patterson, Vallejo (20-1)
1954 — Ed Grimm, Redding Shasta (14-0)
1953 — Charles Doyle, Compton (23-2)
1952 — George Powles, Oakland McClymonds (16-0)
1951 — Cliff Perry, Sacramento McClatchy (22-0-1)
1950 — Harry Brubaker, L.A. Dorsey (17-0*)
1949 — Al Kyte, Oakland Technical (8-2, League)
1948 — Len Porterfield, Santa Maria (16-2)
1947 — Cliff Meyer, Long Beach Wilson (20-3)
1946 — Walt Williams, San Jose (17-2)
1945 — Pop Elder, S.F. Mission (10-0, League)
1944 — Bob Fatjo, San Jose Bellarmine (13-2)
1943 — Les Haserot, L.A. Fremont (13-1)
1942 — Roy Engle, San Diego Hoover (13-0 vs. Prep Teams)
1941 — Ras Johnson, S.F. Galileo (12-1*)
1940 — George Wolfman, S.F. Mission (11-1*)
1939 — Dewey Morrow, San Diego (22-5)
1938 — George Sperry, Glendale
1937 — Bernie Baumeister, S.F. Commerce (12-2, League)
1936 — Lyle Kinnear, Long Beach Polytechnic (23-2)
1935 — Ed Combatalade, Sacramento (20-1)
1934 — Myles Regan, L.A. Cathedral (13-5-1)
1933 — Kit Carlson, Santa Maria (9-1)
*League and playoff record

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