From a father teaching his daughter the game to a coach guiding her through one of the biggest moments of her career, Gary Van Sickle feels his journey has truly come full circle, with wife Lisa and daughter Brooke joining him for Petro Gazz in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference Final.
“It’s just… It’s kind of gone full circle,” Gary said moments after leading the Angels back to the Reinforced Conference finale with a semifinal win over Akari last Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Van Sickles are on the verge of making history, poised to become the first family in PVL history to appear in the finals together — with Gary as head coach, Lisa as assistant coach, and Brooke as a player.
Gary described coaching Brooke in the PVL as an “awesome” experience.
He noted that both he and Lisa have been guiding her since she was a little girl, which has made Brooke accustomed to their coaching style. On top of that, she has been playing exceptionally well, something Gary believes has made the process much easier.
That long-standing relationship adds a unique dimension to their run in the Reinforced Conference finale, turning a professional milestone into a deeply personal moment for the family.
(C) PVL Images
“It’s been awesome coaching her again. We’ve coached her since she was a little girl, so she’s used to my wife and I coaching her,” Gary said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve coached her, so it’s been nice coaching her. She’s just been playing well, so it makes it easy.”
Balancing his roles as father, coach, and mentor, Gary pushes Brooke to perform at her best while maintaining trust and respect, holding her accountable just like any other player on the team.
“I think every once in a while, she probably gets upset with me because I’m pushing her really hard in the match. I’ll talk to her outside the timeout,” he said.
For her part, Brooke admitted that the team’s campaign had its ups and downs early in the conference, but she felt thrilled that everything finally fell into place — and standing on the PVL Final stage alongside both her mom and dad made it all worth it.
“I’m super stoked. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. Thank goodness we started building that chemistry and finding that connection and that cohesion. I thought that everyone’s doing a fantastic job,” Brooke said.
“My parents, again, how it goes, they’re still my coaches at the end of the day. I’m happy and proud of everyone. It took some time, but we got here.”
The Van Sickles will look to make history with the Angels when they take on ZUS Coffee in the championship match on Sunday at 5:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
