About Maine Firecrackers

The Maine Firecrackers were founded in 2007 by Don Briggs and Brian Clement with a mutual vision to teach values and life lessons to young women in the Greater Portland area through the game of basketball. The original team (class of 2014) was called the Falboro Firecrackers and was comprised of players from Falmouth and Scarborough but has grown to include players from multiple towns in the area.

Expectations are for players to be unselfish, humble, hard working, enthusiastic, respectful to both officials and opponents, and team oriented. Focus is on practice with an emphasis on drill repetition to improve individual skills and teaching girls to become well rounded players that are fundamental in all aspects of the game.

Though the primary focus of instruction is geared toward preparing players to compete at a high level in high school and college, the Firecracker program is widely considered the most successful girls program in Maine and is also considered one of the elite programs in New England.

Co-Founder Maine Firecrackers

Don Briggs – Co-Founder of Maine Firecrackers

Don Briggs has been involved in basketball his entire life … as a player, a coach, and administrator. He had the honor of playing for Maine Hall of Fame Coaches Ron Cote at Biddeford High School and Coach Len McPhee at the University of Maine at Farmington. He reunited with Coach Cote at the University of New England (after graduating from college) where he coached the Nor’easters men for four years as an assistant coach. Once kids entered the scene, Briggs turned his attention to youth programs in Scarborough where he ran the travel basketball program for 5 years. For the past 7 years he has been the Scarborough Basketball Booster President – overseeing the entire basketball program for boys and girls.

For the past 8 years, Briggs (along with co-founder Brian Clement) has run the Maine Firecrackers Girls AAU basketball program. He had the pleasure of taking our first group over many mountains to gain the necessary respect to run an elite program out of Maine. That inaugural Firecracker team accomplished many firsts throughout their AAU playing days which was highlighted (at that point) by the State’s only AAU D2 National Championship. The opportunities seemed to really open up after winning that Championship which allowed the program to build its brand recognition with tournament directors and college coaches.

After the first Firecracker team graduated, Briggs has coached two different 14U teams the last 2 years winning back to back AAU D2 National Championships (2014 and 2015).

Commenting on the long and amazing journey over the prior eight years, Briggs said “The wins and championships were very special, but seeing young women go from pigtails and braces to highly recruited student athletes who are leaders in the classroom, on the court, and in their communities has been the most rewarding.”

Briggs continued, “Olivia Smith (Dartmouth) and Allie Clement (Marist) will play Division I, Nina Davenport (Bates), Sam Frost (Salve Regina), Olivia Shaw (UNE) and Brianne Maloney (St. Joe’s) will thrive in Division 3. More importantly to me, they are role models to our younger players and they have set a high standard. Our younger players will be held to the same standards. Those original kids and parents plowed a lot of ground and in many ways are the foundation from which our program will continue to grow in the future.”

Currently we have 14 players that have been offered athletic scholarships. This happens because we have great coaching, outstanding kids with incredible work ethic and team first attitudes, parents that remain patient and understand the process, and ultimately the trust and respect of the college coaching community. Each group that plays after the initial team will continue to benefit from those before them. The common denominator – a philosophy and work ethic that prepares athletes for the college game.

In addition to his coaching duties, Briggs also manages the day to day responsibilities of the Firecracker program. When not on the court Briggs can be found at Willis Re, where he is a Sr. Vice President of Reinsurance. In addition, he will be following his daughter Ashley as she continues her playing career at St. Anselm College in Manchester NH and enjoying the outdoors – hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, etc., with his son Josh.

In the last three years 13 Firecrackers have received more than 40 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I and II schools, including: Air Force, American, Arizona, Army, Belmont, Boston College, Boston U, Brown, Bryant, Bucknell, Buffalo, Butler, Canisius, Colgate, Colorado, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Dayton, Delaware, DePaul, Drexel, East Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, Fairfield, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, Hartford, Harvard, High Point, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Indiana, Iona, Iowa State, Jacksonville State, James Madison, Lafayette, Loyola (MD), Maine, Marist, Massachusetts, Mass-Lowell, Minnesota, Navy, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Presbyterian, Princeton, Providence, Quinnipiac, Rhode Island, Rice, Richmond, Sacred Heart, Samford, San Diego State, Seton Hall, Siena, St. Bonaventure, St. John’s, St. Joseph’s, Stony Brook, Temple, Vermont, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Wagner, Washington, William & Mary, Wofford, Xavier, Yale, Adelphi, Assumption, Belmont Abbey, Bentley, Merrimack, NYIT, Southern New Hampshire, St. Anselm, Stonehill, Wingate

Below are some highlights of the Firecracker accomplishments.

2019

  • AAU Maine State Champions – 8th Grade – Martin
  • AAU Maine State Champions – 7th Grade – Fitzpatrick
  • AAU Maine State Champions – 6th Grade – Walker
  • AAU Maine State Champions – 5th Grade – Gillen

2018

2017

  • AAU State Champions – 12U Cook, 11U Fitzpatrick
  • Zero Gravity Northern New England Champions – 10U Walker
  • New Hampshire Hoop Festival Champions – 12U Cook, 11U Fitzpatrick

2016

  • AAU State Champions – 15U Cousins, 14U Clement, 10U Fitzpatrick
  • AAU State Runner Up – 11U Cook
  • Middlesex Magic First Shot Champions – 11U Cook
  • ASGR Hoopfest Boston Champions – 16U Briggs
  • ASGR Hoopfest Boston Runner-up – 14U Clement
  • Best of New England Champions – 11U Cook
  • GymRat CHALLEGE Champions – 16U Briggs, 15U Nelson
  • Suwanee TOC Champions – 16U Briggs
  • AAU National Championships Runner-up – 14U Clement
  • ASGR Summer Basketball Playoff Champions – 16U Briggs

2015

  • AAU National Champions, Division II – 14U Briggs
  • GymRat CHALLENGE Runner-up – 14U Briggs
  • AAU State Champions – 15U Briggs
  • AAU State Runner-up – 14U Whitmore, 12U Blethen, 11U Shibles, 10U Cook

2014

  • AAU National Champions, Division II – 14U Briggs
  • US Junior Nationals Champions, Silver Division – 16U Clement
  • AAU State Champions – 13U Soucy, 12U DeWolfe, 11U Huntington

2011

  • AAU National Champions, Division II – 14U Briggs
  • AAU National Runner-up, Division II – 13U Clement
  • AAU State Champions – 14U Clement, 13U Clement, 12U Seavey, 11U Hart, 10U Ingegneri
  • Shamrock East Coast Champions – 14U Briggs, 13U Clement, 11U Hart
  • Northeast Elite Top 64 15U Division Champions – 14U Briggs
  • Northeast Elite Top 64 14U Division Champions – 13U Clement

2010

  • 11th Place at AAU Nationals, Division II – 13U Briggs
  • Best of the Best New England Champions – 13U Briggs
  • Best of the Best New England Runner-up – 12U Clement
  • AAU East Coast Super Regional Champs – 13U Briggs
  • AAU State Champions – 13U Briggs, 11U Jefferds, 10U Hart
  • YBOA State Champs – 12U Clement

2009

  • AAU State Champions – 12U Briggs
  • AAU State Runner-up – 11U Clement
  • YBOA State Champions – 12U Briggs
  • YBOA State Runner-up – 11U Clement
  • MBR State Champions – 11U Clement

2008

  • AAU State Champions – 11U Briggs
  • YBOA Maine State Champions – 11U Briggs