Coaches Corner

Coach David Fiske is the co-founder of Saline High Crew, established in 2004. He is the Head Coach of the boys’ rowing program working with every level of the team: novice, JV and Varsity.

A native of Wyandotte , MI , Coach Fiske has been involved with rowing since 1980. His rowing career began at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel High School, where he rowed all four years. Since that time and as recently as 2004, he has rowed during the summer for the Wyandotte Boat Club. Also competing in crew at the University of Washington for nearly two years, Dave has raced at levels and in all boat categories.

Coach Fiske began coaching crew in 1990 for his high school alma mater after graduating with a degree in education from the University of Michigan. After receiving his first teaching position in 1991 with Wyandotte Public Schools, he coached 4 years for Wyandotte Roosevelt High School. He also has coached all levels for the Wyandotte Boat Club summer programs from learn to row middle schoolers to elite rowers. In addition to his present duties as Saline Crew Boys’ Head Coach, Dave is a member of the state rowing organization’s executive committee.

Presently, Mr. Fiske teaches fifth grade at Heritage School. Dave has been married since 1994 to Shelly Fiske, who is a nurse at Saline Hospital. They have three children: Alle, the oldest, and twins, Brady and Brooke.

Coach Fiske not only teaches and motivates the rowers; Coach Fiske is also known to compete in regattas with members of Saline crew team.

Coach Racing

Coach Fiske and Andy Michaluk racing in the Men’s Open Pair at the American Heritage River Fall Classic regatta - Wyandotte, MI - November 2, 2008. Time of 20:07:00

Bridgette Sparks, a co-founder of the Saline High School Crew team, began her rowing career on the west

coast. Bridgette rowed for four years at Mills College where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry. After graduating, she coached for four years at Mills while obtaining her graduate degree in Education from University of California at Berkeley. Mills College achieved a 1^st place finish at Nationals

in the Varsity four during her tenure there. Every summer Bridgette coached a summer youth rowing program geared towards diversifying the sport of rowing through outreach. She also coached the Lake Merritt Women’s Master Team.

Looking for a change of pace (and wanting to experience a change in seasons for the first time), Bridgette moved to the mid-west to coach Division 1 rowing. She coached for two years at University of Michigan, where she was responsible for coaching the Varsity four and the Novice eights. During her time at the University of Michigan, she coached the V4 to a 2^nd place finish at the 2001 Nationals and a 4^th place finish in 2002.

Deciding to focus her attention on teaching high school, Bridgette left the University of Michigan to teach at Saline High School. She started the crew team at Saline with Dave Fiske in the Spring of 2004.

Bridgette’s coaching philosophy focuses on the whole athlete. She believes meta cognitive skills are just as important as the physical skills associated with sport. She provides opportunities for her athletes to develop their analytical, reflective, and goal writing skills. Bridgette also runs a comprehensive program focused on physical training. The students engage in core stabilization, shoulder stabilization, wind sprints, weight lifting, stretching, aerobic activity, and erging during the winter months.

Bridgette, in her 8^th year at Saline, currently teaches AP Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, and General Chemistry in the high school. She recently had a baby, Caden, who is now 6 months old. Her dog Rigger is a sprightly 12 years young. In her free time, Bridgette enjoys taking walks with Caden and Rigger as well as grading homework assignments and tests (“enjoys” may be too strong of a word for the latter – lets just say that she doesn’t have much free time at the moment).