ARGUABLY the best two-way local player in Philippine volleyball today nearly never picked up the sport, despite being raised by two longtime volleyball coaches.
Two-time PVL MVP Brooke Van Sickle has been working wonders for Petro Gazz in just under two years, highlighted by the franchise’s first All-Filipino crown last April.
But before she chases a second title this Sunday against ZUS Coffee in the Reinforced Conference finals, Van Sickle took a trip down memory lane with SPIN.ph, sharing how her parents-slash-Angels coaches Gary and Lisa somewhat ‘forced’ her away from the soccer pitch and onto the volleyball court.
READ: With Petro Gazz, Van Sickles make PVL Finals a family affair
“It’s actually funny because I played soccer when I was younger. But because my parents are a volleyball couple, I kind of made the switch and I don't know how or when, but they kind of just were like, ‘Ok, you're gonna play volleyball now,’” Van Sickle said.
Simply put, that switch from soccer to volleyball was bound to happen and was just a matter of when, not if.
“Even though I was just a kid, I was still liking all different sports, but that was for the best,” BVS admitted.
“It was inevitable that I was gonna play volleyball and they were gonna be my coaches because obviously they have history with the sport and everything and they have really good sporting IQs.”
Brooke faces her destiny
Still, it took time for Van Sickle to get accustomed to a sport she once saw as something she was destined to play, rather than something she truly wanted.
In fact, that adjustment even created a ‘love-hate’ dynamic inside the Van Sickle household - and Brooke had to learn to navigate those turbulent waters, as her young volleyball career sailed forth.
But what did those early training days actually look like? Beyond the usual fundamentals, the Van Sickles placed special emphasis on developing Brooke’s form one skill at a time, before moving on to mastering all of them.
“It has probably to do with just my form in general. When you go to college, they don't really critique form a lot, so I would say [my parents taught me] my form when I'm hitting, what I'm supposed to be looking at,” Brooke shared.
And while she sometimes found her parents’ coaching style frustrating, BVS came to understand that, like any parent, Gary and Lisa only wanted her to reach her full potential, both in honing her skills on the court and building discipline off it.
“I don't think it's everyone's cup of tea because there definitely are moments like I will butt heads a little bit with them, but at the end of the day, I still love them,” she said.
“It's always about the message and not the tone. Just having them as my parents taught me a lot in life, like how to be more receptive and take criticism better in certain situations.
“We still don't have all those answers and we're still not perfect, but that's good though.”
An all-too familiar feeling
When the Van Sickles took the reins of Petro Gazz at the start of the Reinforced Conference, a day in Brooke Van Sickle’s already-flourishing volleyball life felt oddly familiar and reminiscent of her early days in the sport, as well as her collegiate years in Hawaii and Oregon.
Training sets the pace, then Manila traffic dictates the rest of the day.
This reunion with her parents, now coaching her professionally, has also been made easier by their proximity to her home.
“When we're on the court, they're my coaches. Off the court, no volleyball — just talking about random things, eating, having coffee, just having a good time,” the younger Van Sickle shared.
“It kind of depends on traffic and what time we finish because sometimes it can be brutal. But since they live close, it’s really nice to be in the same area, and we manage to balance it all really well.”
Even with this familial comfort, Brooke is still learning from Gary and Lisa’s familiar but unrelenting tutelage.
She’s discovered how success in volleyball goes beyond textbook skills, as it’s truly more on passion and perseverance, which her parents have always emphasized.
“I’ve been playing for almost 20 years now. It's definitely taking a toll on the body a little bit, but I would say the biggest thing that they taught me was grit, my attitude, and my mentality that I got from them,” BVS said.
“Even though they're my loving parents, they are the most, besides myself, they're the most like critiquing and on me a lot.
Finish the story
Brooke’s first rodeo with her parents in the Philippines felt like a carefully-scripted drama, full of early twists and turbulence, but now, it’s reached its climax with a finals berth despite a rocky start where victories were hard to come by.
So how does she sum up this family affair so far? One big surprise, to say the least.
“Oh jeez, if you had asked me at the start if we’d be here entering the finals, I don’t know what I would’ve said,” she admitted.
“But we’ll see what happens.”
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