John Gesiskie is synonymous with volleyball, and he’s a staple at Pleasant Valley.

That much is certain.

But he’s also so much more than that.

Gesiskie is woven into the fabric of the Pleasant Valley community, making an impact that reaches far beyond wins or losses.

More than the face of the program, Gesiskie has been a fixture with countless connections outside of coaching.

It’s in that role, though, that Gesiskie is most recognizable to those familiar with the Bears, and a position he has held for three decades.

This fall will mark Gesiskie’s last as Pleasant Valley’s head coach, closing a chapter in a remarkably storied career.

The undefeated Bears made more history Tuesday night, knocking off Emmaus for the first time ever and improving to 7-0 on the season.

Gesiskie is as eager to coach now in his final season as he was in his first.

And that enthusiasm has been an integral part of Gesiskie’s success.

A member of the Pleasant Valley Hall of Fame, Gesiskie achieved his 500th-career victory in October of 2020 against East Stroudsburg South.

He started the varsity volleyball program in 1994 - the first in Monroe County - after operating as a club team in 1993. During his time in charge of the program, he Gesiskie coached all three of his daughters - Nikki, Jamie and Jackie - all of whom amassed over 1,000 assists during their careers with the Bears.

There was a five-year stretch during that time where Pleasant Valley racked up 50 consecutive Mountain Valley Conference victories, and posted a mark of 134-29.

The Bears also won five Mountain Valley Conference Championships, and Nikki, Jamie and Jackie were all Most Valuable Players in their senior years.

Family has always been big for Gesiskie, whose wife Kathleen has been his assistant coach since the beginning.

In that regard, each team he has coached at Pleasant Valley has been like family for Gesiskie, who is always teaching and working to build a bond that gets stronger and stronger during the course of a season.

“Easton was a big game for us, Pocono East was a big game for us, and afterwards, yes we won, but where did we lack?” Gesiskie said of wins earlier this season. “And I don’t tell them. I let them discover that, and I try to lead them there. I want to develop leaders. I tell them, that banner in there with 500 wins, I wasn’t on the court for any one of them. It was the six girls on the court at different times that made the decisions that led to that win. I tell them that they have to learn to make those decisions, and back each other up.

“That is being a team. You learn how to help each other and adjust. I want them to think beyond the game.”

Gesiskie has coached over 40 players who went on to continue their volleyball careers at the collegiate level - including a pair at the Division 1 level.

The lessons and love for the game that Gesiskie tries to instill in all his players has continued beyond their playing days, as Gesiskie said that around 10 of his former players are now coaching at different levels.

One of the reasons the 66-year-old Gesiskie is stepping down is because there are things he wants to do away from the court - which once again circles back to the importance of family in his life.

“My grandkids are in Kansas, and I’m missing a birthday because of a game on that day,” said Gesiskie. “Being able to enjoy time with your grandkids only lasts so long, and then they’re grown up and have moved on - and then what do you do? So I want to be able to enjoy that. This just seems like the time to go.”

But Gesiskie is still fiercely competitive and dedicated to his players, something that will not change in his 30th and final year coaching.

“People will say, ‘Oh, you must be excited about this and that now that you’re retiring - what are you doing differently in your final season?’” Gesiskie said. “And I tell them, I’m not doing anything different. I have the same high expectations for these kids as I had from my first team. Because if I don’t, then I shouldn’t even be coaching.

“So many people think that, ‘Oh it’s your last year, you can sit back.’ No, I’m not kicking back at all. We put in all the offseason work, the summertime training. I put in all this time because I owe it to them.”

And that’s just it. Gesiskie’s place and purpose has remained at Pleasant Valley and the surrounding area.

Gesiskie has spent time doing clinics at Stroudsburg and the Pocono Mountain schools in an effort to grow the game and raise the level of play throughout the region.

“We can’t get better if nobody else is better,” Gesiskie said. “If they get better than us, guess what? Then they must have worked harder. But in the meantime, I want to give them some of the resources so they can get better.”

Gesiskie played basketball at Division 1 Western Kentucky University, where he tore his meniscus in the preseason before a car accident over holiday break when he came home derailed his career when he was 19, He recovered and ended up playing volleyball at East Stroudsburg University, where he would also become a coach as a graduate assistant. That was the start of a long and productive career in the sport, which eventually led him to Pleasant Valley as a teacher and coach. He retired from teaching in the Pleasant Valley School District in 2020, but stayed on as coach until this season.

As dedicated as Gesiskie has been to coaching volleyball, he does have another passion - cycling.

He has cycled across North America and Europe. From Canada to Florida; from Alabama to Lake Erie - when he was 63; and from Latvia to Estonia and Lithuania. Next year, in May, he hopes to cycle from Germany to Hungary.

He won’t ride away from volleyball completely, though.

“A lot of schools that I’ve helped want to know if I’ll come in and be a consultant for them, come into their practices and give them ideas,” said Gesiskie, who is also running for Pleasant Valley School Board. “I have no problem doing that. I used to do a lot of that for some teams from the Philadelphia area.”

This season offers a full circle moment for Gesiskie, as Melissa Bruckman, who played for the Bears, is on the staff as an assistant while her daughter, Brianna, is a senior.

“It’s going to be a sentimental night on Oct. 11, because that will be Senior Night, and the last regularly scheduled game here,” Gesiskie said. “I’m hoping to bring a bunch of the players from the past here to celebrate that, But I’m ready. I’m definitely ready.

“You get the emails, and the letters from some of these kids and it just warms your heart. They tell you about how they never would have done this job, or tried this, if you didn’t teach me to believe in myself, if you didn’t teach me what leadership was about. Those are things you don’t strive to do, but you hope by setting the example and giving them the resources that they’ll absorb that and they can use it whatever way they feel necessary. It’s stuff like that that’s really heartwarming. I keep those letters in certain places.”

It’s those types of moments off the court - above all the victories and championships on the court - that will assure Gesiskie’s legacy at Pleasant Valley will live on long after he coaches his final match.

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COACHING MILESTONE … In an early season non-league match against Hazleton, Marian volleyball coach Maria Serina achieved a coaching milestone. The 25-10, 25-13, 17-25, 25-15 victory back on Aug. 28 was the 200th of her coaching career - which also includes a successful stint at Pottsville Nativity before she took over the program at Marian.

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RECORD BROKEN … It didn’t take long for Palmerton senior Sydney Frantz to put herself in the Bombers’ field hockey program’s record book. On Aug. 26 - in just the Bombers’ second match of the season - Frantz scored a pair of goals to bring her career total to 41 goals and break the record of 39 held by Saylor Burke. The goals have continued to come fast and furious for Frantz, who is coming off a four-goal performance on Monday in a win over Bangor and now has 49 for her career.

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MILESTONE … Panther Valley sophomore Morgan Orsulak got her 500th-career assist in a victory over Marian last week.

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A PROGRAM FIRST … Pleasant Valley’s volleyball coach John Gesiskie has enjoyed plenty of success - recording well over 500 victories - during his 30 years as the Bears’ coach. But one team Gesiskie had never beaten during his career was perennial power Emmaus. That changed on Tuesday night when PV rallied for a four-game victory over the Hornets.

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THREE’S COMPANY … Scoring three or more goals in a single game is a memorable achievement for soccer and field hockey players alike. Several area athletes have accomplished the feat so far this season. They include: Noah Geiser (Jim Thorpe boys soccer, 6-1 win over North Schuylkill, Monday, Sept. 11); Matt Johnson (Northwestern boys soccer, 10-2 win over Jim Thorpe, Saturday, Sept. 9); Jack Mauro (Northwestern boys soccer, 10-2 win over JT, Saturday, Sept. 9); Cael Heany (Jim Thorpe boys soccer, 6-3 win over Tamaqua, Monday, Aug. 28); Katelyn Barthold (Northern Lehigh girls soccer, 10-2 win over Wilson, Thursday, Aug. 31); Gabby Brown (Lehighton field hockey, 5-1 win over Pen Argyl, Thursday, Aug. 31); Tessa Sander (Palmerton field hockey, 6-3 win over Catasauqua, Monday, Aug. 28). As mentioned in a previous note, Palmerton’s Sydney Frantz scored four goals in a 4-1 win over Bangor on Monday, Sept. 11.