Caitlin Van Sickle- Assistant Coach

Caitlin Van Sickle, a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, joined the Tar Heel coaching staff in January of 2022. Van Sickle, a starting defender on UNC's 2009 NCAA Championship team, brought to Chapel Hill experience in college and club coaching in addition to her collegiate and international playing background.

Van Sickle played for the Tar Heels from 2009-12, starting all four years and earning first-team All-America, All-Atlantic Coast Conference and All-ACC Tournament honors in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She helped the Tar Heels to ACC titles in 2011 and 2012 and was the ACC Tournament MVP in 2012 as a senior. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the 2009 NCAA Championship and played in the title game all four years.

The program's Defensive Player of the Year Award is named in her honor.

After graduating from UNC in 2013, Van Sickle played six years as part of the U.S. National Team. That stint included 148 international caps and appearances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil and the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, where the U.S. won a bronze medal. Van Sickle, known as Poppy, was one of five Tar Heels on that Pam Am Games team, along with alums Ashley Hoffman, Lauren Moyer and Julia Young, and current Carolina player Erin Matson.

Van Sickle retired from playing in 2019 and served as Director of Coaching at Powerhouse Field Hockey Club in Wayne, Pa., before joining the Princeton staff in 2021. She spent one season with the Tigers before coming to UNC.

"There is no greater honor than returning to my alma mater, a place that has always held a special place in my heart," Van Sickle said upon her return to Chapel Hill. "I am beyond grateful to return 'home' and am excited to start working with such a talented group of student-athletes, and to give back to a place that has given so much to me."

Manuel Garcia Nieto- Assistant Coach

Manuel Garcia Nieto is in his second season on the UNC field hockey staff and serves as an assistant coach following his promotion to a full-time role in the summer of 2023. A native of Argentina, he brings to the program an extensive background as a coach and player.

Garcia Nieto was a volunteer assistant coach on the Tar Heel staff in 2022 as UNC finished 21-0 and claimed the NCAA title.
 
In Argentina, he coached men’s and women’s teams in the top divisions of play. Most recently he directed Banco Provincia First Men´s Team from 201821 and Club Universitario First Women´s Team from 2017-21.
 
He also enjoyed an extensive playing career, representing Buenos Aires regional teams from the U14 to U21 levels and playing for Club Banco Provincia from 1998-2017.
 
After coming to Chapel Hill in 2021, he coached East Chapel Hill High School to a state runner-up finish in 2021.
 
In addition to coaching, he has worked as a P.E. teacher and also holds a degree in sports journalism.

Tim Broenink- Assistant Coach

Tim Broenink joined the North Carolina field hockey program as an assistant coach during the summer of 2023. A native of the Netherlands, Broenink brings high-level international coaching experience to Chapel Hill, in addition to his collegiate background.

"As a program, staff, and University, we are very excited to welcome Tim to the Carolina family," head coach Erin Matson said upon Broenink’s hiring. "He has a wealth of knowledge and experience internationally and domestically. He also brings a contagious, positive energy that goes hand-in-hand with the way we operate. There is no doubt Tim will do whatever it takes to help set our student-athletes up for success, on and off the pitch."

Before coming to UNC, Broenink spent four years as the head coach of the Norway Men's National Team, guiding the squad to a bronze medal, the first in Norwegian history, at the 2019 Euro Hockey Championship Men IV. Also in 2019, he coached the Norwegian club Kringsja to a gold medal at the Euro Hockey Club Championship IV.

He also has extensive experience coaching youth and adult club teams in the Netherlands. He is certified as an educator by both FIH and EHF.

Broenink came to North Carolina already familiar with Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey after spending the 2021 and 2022 seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse.

Scott Sherban- Performance Analyst

Scott Sherban joined the UNC staff in the spring of 2022 and serves as the team’s performance analyst.
 
He arrived in Chapel Hill after spending the 2021 season as the volunteer assistant coach at Princeton. He spent the previous three seasons in that role at Ohio State.
 
As a player, Sherban was a member of the 2019-20 U.S. Men’s Indoor National Team and represented the U.S. at the 2020 Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria. He served as a practice player at Ohio State and also coached at Olentangy Orange High School.
 
Sherban earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State in 2017 and completed a master’s degree in sport coaching at OSU in 2020.

During her time as a Tar Heel, Matson played on four NCAA Championship teams and five ACC Championship teams. She was a three-time recipient of the Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey, becoming just the second player ever – after Shelton – to win that honor three times. She finished her career as the all-time scoring leader in both ACC history and NCAA Tournament play. In 2021, she was named by the ACC Network as one of the top 10 female athletes in conference history. A five-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year and the only student-athlete in any sport to earn ACC Player of the Year recognition five times, Matson started for three of the five undefeated teams in program history.  

“To say I’m excited and honored to be the head coach of the UNC field hockey program is an understatement – this is a dream come true,” Matson said. “This program means the world to me, and I will do whatever it takes to continue the excellence that is UNC Field Hockey. I want to thank Bubba Cunningham, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and the members of the Board of Trustee for this opportunity and for believing in me. I intend to honor the University of North Carolina, Coach Shelton, and the program’s history while working to find ways to achieve new heights, side-by-side with our Carolina community.”

A member of the U.S. National Team since the age of 17,  Matson has extensive international playing experience in addition to her collegiate experience. She was the top scorer at the 2022 Pan American Cup in Chile and has represented the U.S. all over the world, in countries including India, England, South Africa and New Zealand.

While balancing collegiate play, international play and studies, she also became an entrepreneur, founding a brand, “One,” that sells gear bearing her logo. The company also organized and executed summer clinics, maximizing NIL (Name, Image, Likeness opportunities) as allowed by the NCAA.

A three-time team captain while at UNC, Matson majored in Advertising and Public Relations and minored in Coaching Education, graduating in December 2022.