Mark has owned and operated Firecracker Baseball, now  Firecracker Sports since its inception in 2008. The company has grown from 6 teams that very first year to over 380+ teams in 2019. Some of his proudest moments running Firecracker Baseball are when we can include former players, current players as staff, coaches and other roles within the company, some are listed below.

During his playing days, he graduated from Bishop Feehan in 1997 on a team that went 20-2 his senior year and won the EAC Conference. Mark was a pitcher during that time and continued on at Salve Regina University playing 4 years and during his senior year won the Conference Championship and competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts.

After playing finished in 2001 he went into coaching at different levels through the Pawtucket RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) Program, bringing his teams to the World Championships in 2001, 2002 and 2004. For the next 8 years Mark also coached American Legion baseball in Cumberland, RI and High School baseball at the Wheeler School in Providence, RI and at Bishop Feehan HS in Attleboro, MA. After Bishop Feehan HS finished in the top 25 in the state of Massachusetts in 2014, Mark moved onto Dean College as a recruiting coordinator/assistant coach ultimately ending up at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island as the top assistant/pitching coach for the last 2 years concluding in 2018.

Coach Cooke was named the Head Coach of the Coastal team for the prestigious Bay State Games in Massachusetts in 2014. He carried that role through 2018 when Skip McCarty took over the position and lead the Coastal team to medals in 3 out of the last 4 years. Coach Cooke has coached over 91 players that have moved onto the collegiate level and 13 players that have played professionally in his 17 years of coaching.

Dennis starting playing baseball in 1996 at 5 years old. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, RI where he played 2 years of high school baseball where he was a relief pitcher for the local, Lincoln Lions. He also started the Senior Night game. Dennis went on to play 2 and half years of college baseball at Utica College in Utica, NY before an arm/shoulder injury plagued him. As a freshman at Utica College, Dennis lead the team in strikeouts, ground ball outs and innings pitched. During the off seasons, Dennis spent his time training and coaching young players during summer camps at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, MA.

Dennis played in the very first Firecracker Baseball Tournament in 2008 along with 2009 and 2010. Following his playing days, Dennis worked the tournaments as an assistant to the site supervisors, helping out where needed. After those years, Dennis was a site supervisor for a year before moving his way up to director status. Now he serves on the board for Firecracker Baseball as Vice President. On top of his duties as Vice President, he also provides valuable insight on website development, sponsorships and value integrations to further the growth of the company. You will often see Dennis at the 4th of July Showcase event at the fields, championships and teaching young man how to throw the “slurve.”

Don Perry has been with Mark Cooke and Firecracker Sports for all 12 years.  Don’s vast experience in coaching baseball encompasses over 15 successful years at numerous levels of the game to include town, travel, high school and college baseball.  Some of the teams Don coached with were Team Nokona, New England Predators, Bishop Feehan High School, North Attleboro High School and Salve Regina University.

After 20 years in public service, Don is pursuing his passion now full time by staying connected to the game he loves and coaching in a slightly different way.  As Director of Operations, Don will wear a variety of hats. His favorite hat to put on though is the one when his job entails giving the players the resources they need to improve their skills and make the successful transition from one level of the game to the next.  Don helps find quality venues for our tournaments, top notch competition to improve players athletic skills,  the latest resources and technology to assist players in their growth, and with connections between players and college coaches.

Rob is the President of Baseball Player Report, which is an Amateur Baseball Scouting Company based in New York. BPR provides in-depth scouting, coverage, news of all things amateur baseball in the great state of New York. BPR also runs various events and provides college recruit ting videos for current high school baseball players and college baseball players. Rob was recently named the Scouting Director for the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League.

Kienle has also scouted for various MLB Teams with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and the Tampa Bay Rays. During this time, he evaluated the top prospects in the College & High School ranks for the MLB Draft. Rob has a passion for scouting and player development. He wants to help as many kids as possible by giving them a platform to gain exposure and be seen by as many college programs/MLB teams as possible.