"Gerald" Hylkema (February 14, 1946 – March 26, 2002) was a Dutch professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

who played three games in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and several seasons in the American Soccer League. Hylkema began his athletic career in

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

. In 1968, he was part of the Dutch field hockey team at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. In 1970, he turned to professional soccer when he signed with

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

but he spent his first season with the reserves. In 1971, Hylkema gained promotion to the first team where he saw limited time over two seasons. He then played for

Atlante F.C. Atlante Fútbol Club, is a Mexican professional football club based in Mexico City, that competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. Founded in 1916 as Sinaloa, also later named as Lusitania, then as U-53 ...

in Mexico. In 1975, Hylkema played three games for the San Antonio Thunder of the

. In 1976, he played for the Oakland Buccaneers of the American Soccer League. In 1977 and 1978, he played for the Sacramento Gold. In 1980, the Golden Gate Gales selected Hylkema in the ASL Dispersal Draft. After he retired from playing professionally, Hytlkema settled in the San Francisco Bay area where he coached. In the 1984/1985 season, he coached the soccer team of the California State University in Sacramento. In 2002, on holidays in Acapulco, Hylkema died from a heart failure.

References

External links

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NASL stats

2013 Sacramento State Men's Soccer Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hylkema, Gerald 1950 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Groningen (city) Men's association football forwards Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Dutch male field hockey players Field hockey players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for the Netherlands FC Groningen players Eredivisie players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Liga MX players Atlante F.C. footballers San Antonio Thunder players Oakland Buccaneers players Sacramento Gold (1976–1980) players Golden Gate Gales players Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Groningen (city) GVAV-Rapiditas players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen