“Even now, twenty-five years later, these coaches are on my mind, always,” says David Cohen ‘89 (pictured in white shirt with cuffs rolled at left), head coach of the Concord- Carlisle High School varsity boys’ basketball team. The coaches to whom David is referring are those he was “blessed” to have at Fenn: Bob Starensier, Mark Biscoe, and Walter Birge.
“I loved my athletic experience at Fenn and it was my foundation for future success as an athlete, a coach, and in any job I have ever done that related to kids,” David declares.
David guided the CCHS Patriots to a 22-2 record this year and their second Division 2 state championship appearance in three years. He was named a 2016 Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe. David’s assistant for the past eight years has been Fenn alumnus, Aaron Joncas ’91 (leaning forward in blue shirt at left). Another alumnus, Austin Hoey ’13, co-captained the team, led in assists (averaging five per game), and was named a Dual County All-Star. The team set the school record for the most wins in a season and the longest winning streak in an eighteen-game season.
David and Aaron say they owe much of their success to their Fenn experience. “We are both very grateful and proud to be Fenn alums,” says David, who played soccer, basketball, and baseball as a Fenn boy. David also notes that his teachers, as well as his coaches, were influential. Jim Carter ’54 “impacted me as a coach because he taught me that it was not only about working hard, but also about working smart,” he says.
David recalls that after playing a tough Fenn baseball game, Walter “showed up the next morning at a Little League game I was umpiring, to show support.” Bob coached David in all three sports and was “absolutely critical in my athletic and personal development from a young age. He was my driving force and mentor when I started my own camps after college.” In turn, Bob says that David was “a great competitor and probably the best point guard to ever play at Fenn. I am so proud,” he adds, “that two of our ex-players have gone on to become such wonderful coaches.”
David’s Fenn basketball experience was special due in most part to Mark, he says, who “helped inspire my interest in becoming a coach and my drive to grow and learn. I was amazed by his expertise and discipline in anything he did and to this day, he is a confidant and mentor for me through every game of our basketball season.” David says Mark and his wife, Jane, are “our biggest fans, which means so much to me.”
Aaron says he “cherishes” his athletic experiences with Bob, who served as an advisor for Aaron’s son, Jalen ’10, and with Mark; he recalls wining the Eaglebrook soccer tournament for the first time in the School’s history, and “how gratified I was to share that with Bob. I know it was a coaching highlight for him.” During Aaron’s ninth grade year, Coach Biscoe’s basketball team went undefeated and beat Fessenden to win the Fenn Tournament.
Mark was “unlike any teacher I’d had,” Aaron says. “He was so in tune with everything going on in his classroom, and when my attention drifted or I did not submit my best work, I drove myself harder to meet his expectations.” Mark and Jane listen to the games from their Maine home on WIQH.com 88.3, Mark says, and they keep in touch with Aaron and David. “I have been working in education and athletics for my entire career and I am certain that would not have been the case without the tremendous impact Bob and Coach Biscoe had on my life,” says Aaron.
After Fenn, David attended CCHS, where he captained and played basketball and baseball. He went on to do his undergraduate and graduate work at Boston University, where he captained the university baseball team. He started as a varsity assistant coach at CCHS eighteen years ago and became head varsity coach nine years ago. Aaron attended Lawrence Academy for two years, graduating from West Potomac High School in Alexandria, VA, where his parents had relocated. He played soccer and basketball at Lawrence and basketball in Virginia. Aaron hoped to play Division 3 basketball in college, but he started his family “earlier than expected,” he says, and worked full-time while attending college.
Both men are devoted to coaching, calling it meaningful and rewarding work. David, who also runs year-round sports programs for kids, is “tremendously grateful for the opportunity to build lasting relationships and collaboratively impact the lives of kids now and for the future.” Aaron says that “coaching’s rewards lie in the relationships with the players. It is the camaraderie of being involved with a team that brings joy and satisfaction to the work.” He says that coaching is “a conduit...on a daily basis” for the administrative work he does [as the K-12 METCO program director for the Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District] as he can “communicate more effectively with students in general.” David says of his assistant, “It has been a lot of fun and a key to our success to have a loyal friend and dedicated coach like Aaron on our staff.”
Many influential players and captains have come from Fenn,” notes David. Besides Austin Hoey, Joey Crowley ’12, John Bumpus ’07, Drew Vanasse ’07, John B. (JB) Henderson ’06, and Eric Beaulieu ’05 are among them. He says this reflects the “leadership qualities and self-understanding that [Fenn graduates] have already acquired,” and that Fenn “shares and helps to teach the core values of our CCHS program: Commitment, Teamwork, Sportsmanship, and Growth. It is a natural transition and kids from Fenn have the foundation to excel in our program.”