Welcome Coaches

Director of Football Operations, Head Football Coach 
After a nationwide search, Hawken is proud to announce that Brian Stephenson will lead the Hawken Football program starting this fall.

Brian is a native of Lima, Ohio and for the last nine years has been an assistant coach at Woodberry Forest School, a top-flight boarding school in Virginia with one of the best football in the South. A 2009 graduate of Yale, Brian was a member of the university’s football team and earned the 2008 Special Teams Player of the Year award.

At Woodberry Forest, Brian not only served as football coach but also as the track and field sprint coach, English teacher, and student advisor. Over the course of his tenure, Woodberry Forest posted a record of 69-14-1 and won eight Virginia Prep League championships. The team was ranked first in the state for independent schools for five of his nine years at Woodberry, and it was ranked second in 2011 and third in 2012. Brian has coached and mentored numerous All-State players along the way.

Director of Strength and Conditioning
Coach Kris has more than 20 year’s experience in helping enhance productivity and performance in athletes and teams. After receiving a degree in Exercise Science from John Carroll University and playing varsity football for the Blue Streaks, Kris spent time with the Cleveland Indians Strength Department under Fernando Montes. Kris owned Sport Performance Institute for 13+ years, establishing himself as a top performance coach in the Cleveland area and beyond. Additionally, as co-founder of AOE (Athletes of Excellence), Kris also directed the performance training and business operations of this high level soccer training group.

Kris has served as a Performance Consultant for numerous pro teams, premier clubs and universities, to include: Cleveland Crunch, Cleveland City Stars, University of Akron, Ashland University, Cleveland State University, Notre Dame College, John Carroll University, Cleveland Soccer Academy, Ohio Flames Hockey, Team Ohio Hockey, Cleveland United Soccer, Ambassadors Football Club, and many of the areas high school varsity programs.

Associate Director of Athletics, Admission Officer, Director of Boys Lacrosse
Coach Usaj has coached collegiate, high school and youth lacrosse for over 16 years.  He most recently served as the head boys lacrosse coach at Shady Side Academy (PA) for the past two seasons and was an Associate Director of Admissions.  At Shady Side Academy, Coach Usaj led the varsity team to two 3rd place WPIAL finishes and two PIAA state tournament berths.  During his time at Shady Side Academy, Coach Usaj mentored 3 All Americans and 3 Academic All Americans. Previously, Coach Usaj was the head coach of the Washington & Jefferson Presidents lacrosse team (NCAA Div. III).  While there, the team won the inaugural PAC Title in 2013. 

 

Ater graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2002 with a degree in performance and communication arts, Usaj was the offensive coach at Chagrin Falls High School (OH) and helped the program win a state championship (2003) in just its fourth season of existence. Usaj also served as the head coach at Harvard-Westlake High School (CA) from 2004-2006, where the team won the Southern section title.

 

Throughout his high school coaching career, over 50 players coached by Usaj, have gone on to play competitive college lacrosse. Most recent graduates are playing at the University of Richmond, High Point University, Robert Morris university, Ohio Wesleyan, R.I.T. and Amherst College.

Softball Head Coach and Field Hockey Head Coach
Coach Bucceri an alumnae of Hawken Field Hockey, a standout player, team captain, and 4-year varsity letter winner. She played collegiate field hockey at the College of Wooster. Coach Bucceri was the Head Coach of the Hawken middle school team in 2017. In the return of the High School softball program, Coach Bucceri, grew the roster to over 20 girls and is looking to continue to grow the softball program in the near future. Also, this fall, Coach Bucceri, will assistant coach the field hockey team.

Head Field Hockey Coach
Coach Kishna is the Director and Head Coach of the Cleveland Field Hockey Club. He is a former international field hockey player who represented Guyana as a goalkeeper and was then called up to play as a forward after he retired from goalkeeping. He has also played in many leagues including the North American Premier League. He continues to play competitively and organizes and plays in many tournaments here in Cleveland and around North America. Coach Kishna recently resumed playing internationally, representing the USA at the FIH Masters World Cup, 2016 in Canberra, Australia. Coach Kishna has coached men’s teams, women’s collegiate field hockey, and girls high school teams, most recently at Hathaway Brown School.