Jon Cohn has been named Head Coach of Watkinson School’s Boys Varsity Soccer team. A 1978 Watkinson graduate, Cohn has extensive coaching experience at the international, club, ODP, high school and college levels. 

At the youth level, Cohn has coached with the West Hartford Soccer Club, FSA FC United and CFC Premier. He has been a head coach of Connecticut Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams since 2004 and has served on the ODP Regional camp staff. He currently is the Regional Training Center Director, overseeing camps and clinics for Connecticut Junior Soccer Association, and is the Director of Soccer at the Day Hill Dome in Windsor, CT. 

Cohn served as head coach of Mitchell College Women’s Soccer in 2025 and was the associate men’s Coach at Elms college in 2023 and 2024. 

Cohn led the Maccabi USA Boys U-16 Team to silver medals at the Pan-Am Games in Argentina (January 2024) and the World Maccabiah games in Israel (July 2022). Cohn also coached the Maccabi USA Team at the Pan-Am games in Mexico (2019) and the World Youth Games in Israel (2018). 

Cohn has served as head coach of the Manchester High School boys and girls programs as well as Bloomfield High School boys soccer team. Cohn led the Manchester girls to 11 CIAC State Tournaments and, in his first year coaching the boys program, led the boys to state tournament qualification for the first time in five years. 

Cohn played for Curry College and has played in both the SNEASL and SASL adult leagues for over 25 years. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1983 with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree. He was inducted in the Greater Hartford Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 2024.

Watkinson School is pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Ide as the new Head Coach of the Varsity Fencing team. 

Ben Ide brings over ten years of coaching experience and a comprehensive fencing background to the Watkinson School program. His fencing journey started in 1993; since then, he has competed, coached, and refereed in all three weapon classes (Foil, Epee, and Saber). Ben is officially certified as a Coach and Referee by the US Fencing Association (USFA) and is fully vetted and trained by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. He focuses on cultivating critical thinking, discipline, and sportsmanship in a safe, structured environment.

Beyond Watkinson, Ben is the Co-Owner of the Enfield Fencing Club (EFC). At EFC, he teaches fencers of all skill levels, from age 11 through adult, and personally manages equipment maintenance, ensuring a deep commitment to the sport’s infrastructure.

The Watkinson Fencing Program is proud to collaborate with the Enfield Fencing Club. EFC offers an opportunity for Watkinson fencers to access year-round training and advanced instruction from USFA-certified coaches. Students looking to accelerate their skill development or compete outside of the school season are highly encouraged to explore the programs available at EFC.

Fall Sports Day was a huge success thanks to our incredible athletes, coaches, families, fans, and volunteers! Saturday, September 27 brought us perfect weather and a great turnout! 🐏

A warm thank you to the Watkinson Parent Community (WPC) for their support and food truck magic!

Photo credits to Annie Hayami, Maddie B. ’27, Ava B. ’27, Olivia C. ’26

Watkinson School is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Walker as the new Head Coach of the Boys Varsity Basketball team. Matt Walker will assist his father on the sideline.

Coach Walker brings over 40 years of basketball coaching experience to Watkinson. He has served as an assistant coach for the program for the past two years, becoming an integral part of the staff. His previous coaching experience includes positions at Conard High School and Hall High School. Currently, Coach Walker is also the director of the West Hartford Boys Travel Basketball Program.

“We are excited to welcome Coach Walker as our new Head Coach,” said Ann Haggerty, Athletic Director. “His coaching philosophy, which emphasizes positivity and encouragement, is an excellent fit for Watkinson. He is dedicated to instilling the values of sportsmanship in his players and helping them reach their full potential.”

Joining the staff as an assistant will be Matt Walker, son of the new head coach, who brings his own track record of success. A coach for the CT Swarm and West Hartford Travel Basketball, Matt Walker recently served as the Junior Varsity Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach at Kingswood Oxford School.

The Walkers are committed to developing young athletes through their non-profit organization, ‘On The Court.’ Founded in 2023, ‘On The Court’ provides basketball skills training to boys and girls ages 6 to 16. The program operates from March to November, and in the past two years, has trained over 450 young athletes.

Please join us in welcoming the Walkers to the Watkinson community!

For the second year in a row, Eva G. ’25 was named the NEPSAC Class D Player of the Year. This incredible award is voted on by coaches acros all classes in the NEPSAC, speaking volumes to Eva’s impact on the court. Congratulations, Eva!

The Watkinson Athletic Department is excited to announce that Max Schweitzer has been named Head Coach for Boys’ Varsity Tennis for the Spring 2024 season.

Schweitzer brings decades of tennis experience to Watkinson as both a player and a coach. A West Hartford native, Schweitzer competed in USTA tournaments in New England and beyond during his youth. His success on the court led to his eventual recruitment to Clark University, where he was a 4-year varsity starter in singles and doubles. At Clark, Schweitzer obtained a master’s degree in interpersonal communication and received the Russ Granger award for outstanding academic and athletic achievement in his class. 

In 2017, Schweitzer founded a private tennis coaching business to provide efficient, entertaining, and informative lessons for kids and adults alike. To date, he’s worked with over one hundred individuals, providing both technical help and strategic advice. Additionally, Schweitzer is the assistant director at the Nike Tennis Camp at Mount Holyoke College, the largest sleepaway tennis camp in the country. He will be entering his sixth year at the camp this summer.

As a coach, Schweitzer believes in leading by example, respecting one another, and the power of two-way communication. When he’s not on the court, Schweitzer enjoys long-distance running and creating artwork. His fine arts business, Schweitzer Studios, is centered around wildlife and pet illustrations on slabs of slate. 

Please join us in welcoming Coach Schweitzer to the Varsity Tennis program!

The Watkinson Athletic Department is thrilled to announce that Dan Horwitz has been named the Head Coach for Boys’ Varsity Basketball for the 23-24 school year. 

A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, Coach Horwitz is in his third year as an assistant director of Admissions at Watkinson. Prior to working at Watkinson, he served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the collegiate level for three years, most recently at Mount Saint Mary College. At Watkinson, he led the boys’ JV basketball team for the past two years. Coach Horwitz attended Newbury College where he was a 4-year letter winner for the men’s basketball team and was named a team captain junior and senior years. At Newbury, Dan earned the sportsmanship award three years in a row and the scholar-athlete award his senior year for having the highest GPA of the male athletes. He interned for the men’s basketball team at Syracuse University for a summer and worked basketball camps at Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, and UConn, and for USA youth development. 

Coach Horwitz self-published a basketball leadership book on Amazon called, “Help Them Up”. He believes in creating a championship culture environment where everyone feels safe, empowered, and has a voice. Dan has a twin brother who is an assistant men’s basketball coach at Hobart College.

Please join us in welcoming Coach Horwitz to the Varsity sidelines! 

With a 43-36 victory over Dublin School, Watkinson Girls Basketball has won the 2023 New England Class D Championship!!

The Rams used smart, dynamic, poised, and tough-nosed team play to earn the program’s first New England championship in almost ten years. Congratulations to every player on this year’s team for your incredible growth, effort, and commitment to team. We are so proud of you!

Kudos to our incredible coaching staff as well! In two short years, Coach (Kristalyn) Baisden, Coach Alferi, and Coach (Chris) Baisden have instilled a positive team culture that serves as the foundation for this success.

Special congratulations to:

Kayla H. ‘23, who was named MVP of the Class D Tournament.

Coach Kristalyn Baisden, who was named the 2023 NEPSGBA Class D Coach of the Year.

See a gallery of game photos here.

We celebrated the Winter sports season during all-school assemblies the week of February 27. Congratulations and thank you to all of our Middle and Upper School student-athletes and teams!

Our team’s togetherness and the culture we built stood out the most. If you watched our team, you would have observed our bench chanting “defense”, players standing up in excitement after a made basket, teammates sprinting over to a fallen teammate, and a lot of connected huddles!! We are so proud of this group.

Coach Horwitz, Boys Junior Varsity Basketball

Click here for team pictures and words of appreciation from our coaches and captains.

Eva G. ’25 was featured by Girls Prep Hoops recently. Take a look!