Donald F. “Dee” Biggs, Co-President and Director of Boys Basketball
With his appointment to the Board prior to the 2003 season, Dee Biggs is the President of Boys Basketball, a title he has had since 2011. Mr. Biggs works with Mr. Jackson to administer and mentor the boys teams that make up two-thirds of our program. Now coaching at the younger levels, Mr. Biggs focuses on developing individual and team skills while trying to make the experience as fun as possible. He coached his son Casey (The University of Rhode Island) for four years of travel team basketball and now coaches one of our 4th or 5th grade teams each winter. Prior to moving to Acton, Mr. Biggs also coached his older children, Bryan and Jenna, in both basketball and baseball.
Mr. Biggs played basketball, football, and baseball while a high school student in Roanoke, Virginia, and ran track while in college at the Virginia Military Institute. He spent three years on active duty in the United States Army and was an infantry officer in Viet Nam. Dee lives in Acton and recently retired from Welch Foods where he was the director of demand fulfillment and is currently doing some part time consulting work in the same field. Dee is a low handicap golfer unless it’s a tournament, when he will play out of a 35 to ensure he wins.
David M. Poplyk, Co-President and Director of Girls Basketball
With his appointment prior to the 2014 basketball season, David Poplyk serves as our Co-President and Director of Girls Basketball. Mr. Poplyk is currently coaching his daughters in travel basketball and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the girls side of the program.
David went to college in Florida and lives in Acton. He is the head golf pro at Concord Country Club but claims he wishes that he was a better basketball player than golfer.
Robert A. Jackson, Vice President and Assistant Boys Basketball Director
With his appointment prior to the 2011 basketball season, Bob Jackson is the Vice President of Boys Basketball. Mr. Jackson coached his son Kyle (graduate of Bowdoin College) throughout his travel team career and has returned on several occasions since then to work with different travel teams. Mr. Jackson brings a wealth of basketball playing and coaching experience to the program.
Bob played basketball at both Central Catholic High School in Lawrence as well as Bowdoin College in Maine. He lives in Acton and works for MathWorks. He is always available to remind you of his basketball playing days when his coach told his team “we won’t be needing those today” when the rack of basketballs was wheeled into the gym following a not so great loss the night before.
Joshua P. Hammer, Executive Director
Josh Hammer is a founding director of the A-B Travel Basketball Program. He began working in basketball while a high school student, when he was a referee for the A-B Community Education basketball program as well as a weekend scoreboard operator for the then Community Education travel team program. He is a nationally certified basketball referee having held memberships in IAABO (Board 44 – Fitchburg), CBOA (California Basketball Officials Association – Orange County), and FHSAA (Central Florida Officials Association – Orlando) and is a Division 1 varsity level basketball official. In addition to coordinating the administrative side of things, as Executive Director, Mr. Hammer acts as the overall general manager of the Acton-Boxborough program.
Josh went to Acton-Boxborough and then graduated from Assumption College and The University of New Hampshire. At A-B, he played golf, tennis, and was an alpine skier and managed to not have to break a sweat most seasons. He is a commercial airline pilot for a major US airline and is based out of Boston’s Logan International Airport. Josh splits his time between downtown Boston and Orange County, California.
Joseph E. O’Brien, Founder
Joe O’Brien is a founding director of the A-B Travel Basketball Program. He has coached his son Joey (Villanova University graduate) and daughter Hayley (Stonehill College graduate) throughout their travel team experiences. Mr. O’Brien is one of our most successful coaches within the travel team program who has coached at both the boys and girls level.
Joe went to Danvers High School where he played basketball and football and then graduated from North Adams State College, where he played basketball (in his words) for one very forgettable season at a college that no longer exists. He lives in Boxborough and works in the pacemaker and defibrillator division for a medical device company.
Joseph C. McDonald, Jr., Founder
Joe McDonald is a founding director of the A-B Travel Basketball Program and our former President and Director of Boys Basketball. He has coached his sons, Brett (UMass-Amherst), Shane (Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Orange, California), and Ryan (UMass – Amherst) throughout their travel team careers and has also been a strong advocate of the Community Education basketball program, where he has been a league director. He was a pivotal member in coordinating and refining our program philosophy and ensured that program goals are met and expectations were clearly defined.
Joe went to high school in New Jersey where he played basketball and baseball and then graduated from Boston College where he was a pitcher on the BC baseball team. Joe splits his time between home in Boxborough and work in Fort Myers, Florida where he is a higher education administrator at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Paul J. Cartwright, Director Emeritus (1957-2014)
Paul Cartwright was a founding director of the A-B Travel Basketball Program. He has coached his son Mike (UMass – Amherst) and his daughter Erin (UMass – Amherst) throughout their travel team experiences. Mr. Cartwright was a certified high school basketball referee with a membership in IAABO (Board 27 – Boston) and was a long time Division 1 varsity level basketball and soccer referee. He also served as the referee scheduling supervisor for CMYBL, where he managed the officials for over a thousand travel team games annually. As the Vice President and Associate Director of Basketball, Mr. Cartwright worked as an overall general liaison to all teams. His wealth of experience in travel team basketball as a coach for both boys and girls, a referee, a mediator, and an administrator made him an invaluable addition to the Board.
Paul went to Medford High School and then graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. He lived in Acton and worked for the U. S. Postal Service in Concord as a letter carrier. After a six year battle with cancer, Paul passed away on May 14, 2014. He is memorialized forever by having the basketball courts at the Douglas School on Elm Street in Acton renamed forever in his honor as the “Paul Cartwright Courts.” We are always grateful for his involvement with A-B Travel Basketball, and more importantly, his friendship.