Niles Sr. High School

Matt Brawley was hired at Niles High School in the Summer of 2021. Prior to being hired at Niles, Matt worked at Glen Oaks Community College as the Athletic Director from 2019-2021. Matt has also served as a special education teacher, health and PE teacher, computer teacher, athletic director, assistant principal, and principal at Cassopolis from 2005 to 2019. Matt is a 2000 graduate of Niles High School. He then attended Olivet College and graduated in 2004 with a degree in Education. He then went on to achieve his Master's from Mary Grove College.

Cathy Smuda is entering her 13th year as our athletic secretary. She is the friendly face who keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes handling schedules, phone calls, and just about anything else that comes her way. When she’s not busy keeping our programs organized, Cathy enjoys spending time with family or cheering on the Vikings!

Greetings Vikings! Let me take a minute to introduce myself, I am Rikki Jones. I am a teacher at Ring Lardner Middle School, but I am also the women’s varsity track coach. I am an alumni of Niles High School where I competed in both basketball and track & field. One achievement that I am most proud of is holding the school record in discus at Niles since 1999. I have a variety of coaching experience in the past 26 years at almost every level from elementary to varsity with not only track, but basketball and volleyball. My passion is to spread kindness to everyone I come in contact with and as a coach my greatest reward is to see my athletes succeed- whatever that success looks like for them. It is my honor to be able to carry on the tradition and lessons that my previous coaches taught me. Looking forward to building not only great athletes but great citizens- Burn the Boats, Vikings!

Coach Mark Haase is entering his first season at NHS and his 18th season as a varsity basketball coach, bringing nearly two decades of experience, leadership, and passion to the program. A proud Niles native and 1996 graduate, Coach Haase has dedicated his professional life to education and athletics, now in his 25th year of teaching high school social studies. Throughout his coaching career, Coach Haase has built a reputation for developing competitive and disciplined teams. His best season came with an outstanding 24-1 record, culminating in a hard-fought appearance in the quarterfinals. As he begins this next chapter, Coach Haase is focused on building a successful, hard-working program that the entire community can take pride in.

Hello, my name is Dave Schiele. This is my 30th year of teaching at Niles Community Schools. I have taught from Kindergarten to 6th grade. I have a lovely wife and two wonderful children who all went to Niles High School. I coached Cal Ripken Baseball for 11 years at Howard Township Baseball League and Thomas Stadium. Playing golf as a young kid at Fraziers in Niles sparked my interest in golf. I have been playing for over 40 years and have found a lifelong passion for golf. I played golf for NHS in 1989-1990. I have been coaching Girls Varsity Golf for 4 years.

Coach Alexander is a Niles alumn. He went on to run track at Bethel College(now Bethel University). After graduation, he coached track at New Prairie High School. He came back to Niles and now coaches middle school track. He loves seeing his athletes push them themselves, cheer on their teammates, and create goals for themselves. This will be his fourth year coaching in the track program!

Coach Nate is in her first year as head coach and second year coaching cross country at Niles High School, after serving as the assistant coach last season. With a passion for developing student-athletes both on and off the course, Coach Nate focuses on building strong fundamentals, team culture, and overall growth."

Tom Desenberg is a 2000 Graduate of Central Michigan University where played collegiate rugby.. He coached 8th Grade Football 2000-2008, 2009-2011 and Freshman Football 2012-2014. He coached at all levels of the Wrestling program in Niles from 2000-2021. He was awarded the Berrien County Sheriff’s Life Saving Award along with another coach and wrestler for assisting at the scene of an auto accident in 2013. He received the Michigan Wrestling Coaches Association Regional Assistant Coach of the year in 2017 and 2018. He has been the JV Softball coach since 2010. He began teaching in the district in 2000, since 2009 has been at NHS where he teaches History.

As a volleyball coach with 10+ years of playing experience and 3 years of coaching experience, I am most passionate about developing young athletes into the best athlete they can be. My collegiate experience as a player helped me realize the importance of teaching the fundamentals of the game. My focus is to help athletes grow their love for the sport and guide them to reach their full potential.

Coach Mikel is entering his 10th year coaching high school football and 8th year at Niles. This is his 6th year serving as the Varsity Defensive Coordinator. Before coaching, Coach Mikel played football at Niles (class of 2013) and two years at Hope College (class of 2017). He has also coached at Muncie Central in Muncie IN. Coach Mikel is in his 9th year of teaching, and is currently teaching Geometry and Algebra 1 at Niles High School.

My name is Myron Anthony, I am from Muncie, Indiana and a graduate of Muncie South Side High School. I am entering my second year of coaching basketball and teaching at Ring Lardner Middle School. I have 15+ years of experience playing basketball with a brief stint at the collegiate level, playing for the Madison Area Technical College Wolfpack. Coaching and teaching are my ways of giving back to the youth. Building relationships with my players to help them become better young men is the reason that I love coaching. I want to help student athletes understand the importance of hard work, dedication, and being fundamentally sound, as we work to improve on the court and off the court on a daily basis.

Coach Filley is entering her 3rd year as our middle school tennis coach. You’ll also see her on the sidelines of many other sporting events gathering pictures and scores as she helps run our athletic social media pages.

Coach Matz is a proud assistant middle school tennis coach who loved helping guide her team to a 2nd-place finish in the Wolverine Conference last season. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her daughter and reading.

Katie Bruckner is entering her 2nd season as our JV cheerleading coach and also serves as one of our assistant coaches for middle school tennis. Outside of athletics, she enjoys teaching math and spending her free time on the golf course.

Sherry Bruckner brings a wealth of experience to our varsity cheer program. She cheered at Albion College and has coached for over 20 years at the middle school, JV, and varsity levels. In addition, she served as an instructor for the World Cheer Association. Outside of coaching, Sherry enjoys spending time with her family and playing with her dogs.

Coach Herm has served as the Boys JV Tennis Coach at Niles for four years and is entering his third season with the Girls JV team. In addition to coaching, he teaches Business at Niles High School and leads the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where he helps students grow in character, leadership, and community. He has a deep love for sports and the values and life lessons they teach. He works to instill those qualities in his players both on and off the court.

Coach Young is entering his 4th season coaching basketball at Niles High School and his 21 year coaching at the high school level. He brings many years of coaching experience to the NHS. Coach Young values and thrives on developing young student athletes to meet and exceed their potential on and off the court, and most importantly learning to be good, respectful young men and great teammates. He strives each year to push his teams to be the toughest, gritiest team on the court. Coach Young believes that if a team develops good team chemistry and toughness, then the wins will take care of themself. Coach Young graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Special Education and received his masters in Ed Leadership from Grand Valley State University. He currently is a special education teacher at Niles High School. Coach Young once lived out his dream of coaching on a team which reached Michigan State’s Breslin Center. He is determined to help Niles Basketball Team to get back to Breslin.