Now in his 12th year as a Falcon assistant coach, Vern Vander Sluis was a member of the Cerritos College football team back in 1978-79. During his time coaching with the Falcons, he has coached the defensive ends and now works with the linebackers. In his freshman season as a player, the team won the South Coast Conference championship and competed in the Avocado Bowl. Over the last 29 years, Vander Sluis has been coaching at the college and high school level and came to Cerritos after serving as the head coach at Ocean View High School. Prior to that, he spent 13 years as a defensive coordinator at Ocean View High, Norwalk High, Bellflower High and at Cerritos High.

Coach Vander Sluis resides in La Mirada and has a son (Vince) and two daughters (Krystal and Victoria).