The varsity girls field hockey team this year proves anything but mundane as they begin their season with a new addition: head coach Mary Jo Griswold.

Growing up in the San Diego area, Coach Griswold played volleyball, basketball, and softball at Valhalla High School. “Field hockey was not played in San Diego at the time, so I focused on softball,” she said.

With a strong affinity for softball, she accepted a scholarship and attended UC Santa Barbara. A year after her graduation, Coach Griswold immediately began her softball coaching career by coaching the UCSB softball team as a graduate assistant.

She eventually moved back to San Diego, married, and had three daughters. She started her high school coaching career as an assistant softball coach in 1989 at Francis Parker High School. She next transitioned to Serra High School from 1996 to 2000 and in 2003 moved to Scripps Ranch High School as the varsity coach until 2010.

Coach Griswold then turned to coaching her daughters in travel softball. Her daughters Katie (2004 alum), Kelly (2005 alum), and Kori (2013 alum) played field hockey on the USDHS/CCHS team and on club teams. All three of her daughters received scholarships to play at Cal Berkeley.

This year, when Cathedral was looking for a new coach, she decided to switch from coaching softball to field hockey.

“After watching it [field hockey] for sixteen years, I had come to love the sport… And I love the speed and the transition,” Coach Griswold said.

The Cathedral field hockey team consists of two freshmen, two sophomores, nine juniors, and five seniors. The standouts on the team are Seniors Kira Williamson (forward), Madi Kuperman (mid), Sophie Tesluk (defense), as well as Junior Peyton Mowery (mid).

“The girls on this team are so excited about the season and are learning how good they can be. I motivate the girls by being passionate and focused every practice and game with plenty of team bonding and goal setting,” Coach Griswold said.

During the summer, Coach Griswold organized a skills camp with Tiffany Snow, a former Olympic field hockey player. The Olympic competitor taught the young women new skills while fine tuning their basic skills as field hockey players.

“Coach Griswold created an all new field formation that seems to work very well for us and she also has us doing all new drills,” said Peyton.

The girls’ current record is10-8, averaging almost four goals a game while giving up less than one goal.

The team aspires to win a League Championship and participate in the CIF championship game, which is something that no other CCHS/USDHS field hockey team has ever accomplished. Their toughest opponent this season will be Serra High School, who collectively has won the last four CIF Championships.

Coach Griswold also offered pointers for those interested in trying field hockey, saying that the types of players that excel in field hockey are those who have played soccer, softball or lacrosse. She adds that the strategy is similar to soccer and to lacrosse, while the hand-eye coordination of softball is also very much needed.

Peyton Mowerey additionally maintains that field hockey lists as one of the top-five most played sports in the world, and she promotes the sport by exhibiting her own interest: “I like playing field hockey because it’s a very mental game, and you can never get bored because there is so much to learn.” Furthermore, the Men’s National Field Hockey team is stationed in Chula Vista, so it is easy to check out the sport at such a close location.

Girls field hockey reigns as one of the hottest women’s fall sports this season at Cathedral as awareness of the sport and a new coaching staff are present. The team improves every year, and this season Coach Griswold is ready to take the girls to another level.

“My hope for the future is to build a powerful program that is consistently winning championships,” she said.

In the end, Coach Griswold is excited to embark on this new chapter in her life as a field hockey coach at a familiar place that offers a warm welcome.

She said, “Since I have been on campus, as a parent for so many years, it feels like I have been coaching here for years.”