Matt Fritizinger
It all began right here in Berkeley!
Founded in 1998, ours was the first organized high school mountain bike team in the state. Our original head coach, Matt Fritzinger (then a BHS math teacher), put together the team, arranged the first races (which in the early days were youth racing categories at adult events), then reached out to people at other schools in the area and soon organized the NorCal High School Cycling League in 2001. The BHS MTB Team won the NorCal League championship that year and has fielded strong teams in many years since amidst increasingly tough competition (there are now 54 teams in NorCal alone).
With the popularity of the sport soaring, Coach "Fritz" handed the Head Coach baton to Austin "Bobo" McInerny in 2003 so that Coach Fritz could focus on building the NorCal League full-time. Coach Fritz went on to build the SoCal League and then founded the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) as an umbrella organization to propel the growth of the sport in high schools across the nation. NICA now has ten state leagues and thousands of high school MTB’ers nationwide.
Head Coach Bobo led the Team to continued growth, glory, and general fun and excitement until 2008, when he handed leadership of the team over to Jared Prolo so that he could move into an assistant coach role and take on much more active responsibilities with the NorCal League and then with NICA as its first Director of Education Programs, in which he played a key role in developing the teaching materials and standards used to launch new state leagues and to implement a robust national licensing program for coaches.
We are extremely proud that Coach Bobo was named NICA's Executive Director and top officer in 2012. He is now leading the effort to foster the growth and development of high school mountain biking across the country. Meanwhile, the BHS MTB Team that he helped to grow and establish is continuing to spread the joy of mountain biking under Head Coach Nick Hoeper-Tomich.
Our alumni include past state champions, many who went on to race competitively in college and USA Cycling events, and most importantly hundreds of people who developed a lifelong love for mountain biking.
Coaches and Ride Leaders
We are fortunate to have an incredibly talented group of coaches and ride leaders. Together, they have decades of experience riding and racing mountain bikes in the sport, expert, and pro categories. Our Head Coach is Nick Hoeper-Tomich. Nick is a Berkeley native who raced on the BHS MTB team during his high school years, and after racing in college has returned to his roots to lead the Team.
Want to be a ride leader or assistant coach? Email bhsmtbleadership@googlegroups.com
Coach Nick
BHS coaches volunteering at a NorCal race
Planning Team
These are the people that make it all happen. They are in charge of finding sponsors, scheduling events, making a budget, and making sure everything is ready come race day. They meet once a month during the season and once every 4-6 weeks during the off season. If you would like to know more about our Planning Team, please email bhsmtbleadership@googlegroups.com.
Team Director: Elise Fortin
Head Coach: Nick Hoeper-Tomich
GRiT Coordinator: Lani Gentry
Data & Training Coordinator: Russ Fairles
Safety/Coach Coordinator: Mike Krakora
Treasurer: Elle Lichter
Volunteer Coordinator: Julie Pence
Parent Representative: Joe Floren
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinators: Elle Lichter, Sean Keller & Dominick Tracy
Sponsorship Coordinator: Charlie Carroll
Student Planning Team
There are many Student Leaders that help make it all happen! From our GRiT (Girls Riding Together) Ambassadors, to our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team, and much, much more.
National Interscholastic Cycling Association
Founded in 2009, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) develops high school mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States. NICA provides leadership, services and governance for local leagues to produce quality mountain bike events, and supports every student-athlete in the development of strong body, strong mind and strong character through their efforts on the bike.
NICA & NorCal
NorCal League
NorCal High School Cycling League
The NorCal High School Cycling League was organized in 2001 to provide competitive mountain biking programs for students in grades 9 to 12. With the cooperation of local race organizers, our partners, and our sponsors we are able to provide a high quality mountain racing experience. Regardless of ability level, the NorCal League is committed to providing a positive experience for all student-athletes.
Wanna know more?
If you would like to know more about the team, how we're doing, and mountain biking in general:
Head Coach Nick - bhsmtbleadership@googlegroups.com
Keep in touch - Join the BHS MTB google group
We look forward to hitting the trails with you soon!
