Elite 2024

Andy Pons

President

Coach Andy Pons has been President and Director of Thunder Lacrosse Club since 2015, where he oversees coaching staff, budgets, recruiting, and high school teams. He also helped launch the Project South Showcase and Tournament. Currently, he serves as the Director of Lacrosse at Cambridge High School in Milton, GA, leading the team to four consecutive GHSA playoff appearances.

Previously, he was the head coach at Woodward Academy (2015–2020), with two Elite 8 playoff runs and was named Atlanta Metro South Coach of the Year in 2015. A Baltimore native, Pons is a McDaniel College graduate (1998), where he was a three-sport athlete and Athlete of the Year. He is also a Hall of Fame inductee at John Carroll for soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. His coaching career includes time with the Boston Cannons (2013–2015) under Hall of Famer John Tucker.

Coach Pons is a respected speaker at coaching clinics nationwide and has been instrumental in growing lacrosse in the Atlanta area for over a decade. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Chrissy, for 32 years and has three children. His son Mac played at the University of Maryland, winning the 2017 NCAA National Championship.

Bryan Wallace

Senior Director

Coach Bryan Wallace begins his 15th year with Thunder Lacrosse Club, where he serves as the Senior Director. A fixture in the Georgia lacrosse community since 2010, Coach Wallace has played a pivotal role in shaping the club’s success and has been instrumental in developing college-ready players. Under his guidance, Thunder Lacrosse Club has placed over 450 players into NCAA programs, while Coach Wallace continues to focus on both youth and high school teams.

Coach Wallace is one of the architects behind the Thunder coaching curriculum and skill development platform created by John Zulberti. His extensive network of NCAA relationships has been a tremendous asset to the club, ensuring that Thunder athletes receive exposure from top collegiate programs. In addition to coaching and recruiting, Coach Wallace oversees Thunder’s team and fan apparel and manages social media.

In 2025, Coach Wallace was honored as the USA Lacrosse Georgia Boys Coach of the Year after leading Roswell High School to its 3rd consecutive State Championship. That same year, he was inducted into the USA Lacrosse Georgia Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2024. With over 230 wins, Coach Wallace is currently the third-winningest coach in Georgia high school lacrosse history.

His career began after a standout college career, with a brief coaching stint at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Springfield College. In 2005, Coach Wallace relocated to South Florida, where he became the Middle PE Teacher & Associate Head Coach at Gulliver Prep School in Miami. During his tenure, he guided the team to 4 FHSAA Final Four appearances, 4 district titles, and coached 8 USA Lacrosse All-Americans.

Since moving to Georgia in 2010, Coach Wallace has elevated the lacrosse programs at Lassiter High School (2010-2011), Centennial High School (2011-2019), and Roswell High School (2020-present), 7-time Area Coach of the Year, 12 GHSA Playoff Appearances, 11 Area Championships, 4 State Championships, 36 USA Lacrosse All-Americans, 186 Scholar-Athletes, 34 Division I commitments, and many more accolades.

A native of Western Massachusetts, Coach Wallace was a standout 3-sport athlete at Minnechaug Regional High School, earning multiple All-League, All-Region, and All-State honors. As a college athlete at UMass Dartmouth, he scored 98 points over his career and was named 2nd Team All-Conference in his senior year. After graduating, he pursued coaching and higher education for his master’s degree at Springfield College.

In his 35 years of lacrosse involvement, Coach Wallace has made an indelible mark on the game. He also oversees the Roswell Youth Boys Rec and Select programs in both the fall and spring, ensuring that the next generation of players has the same opportunities for growth and development that he provides his high school athletes.

Coach Wallace resides in Roswell with his wife, Tara, and their daughter, Greer.

Ryan McKay

Coach

Ryan McKay enters his third season with the Piedmont men’s lacrosse program in the fall of 2019 after joining the program as an assistant coach in the fall of 2017. McKay’s offense produced record breaking numbers in 2019 as the Lions set a program record for points (291), goals (200), shots / shots per game (798 / 44.33) and shots on goal / per game (437 / 24.28). Piedmont claimed the 2019 USA South Tournament with wins over Methodist (11-6) and Huntingdon (11-10) while attackman Brady Jenks and midfielder Josh Cobbina earned second-team All-Conference honors In 2018, the Lions earned their first winning season and first nine win season as they earned a bid for the USA South Tournament. The Lions fell in overtime to Methodist. Prior to Piedmont, McKay served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Millsaps. McKay helped lead the Majors to eight wins during his stint as an assistant including winning the first two contests of his coaching career. The win in the 2016 season opener was the first 1-0 start for the Majors in program history and the only time the Majors have defeated Piedmont. McKay’s primary responsibilities were working with the offense and man up while also working to create practice and game plans for the Majors. In 2016, he helped the Majors finish fourth in the country in caused turnovers per game. The Majors also had a pair of all-conference selections during McKay’s time with the team. Prior to being hired as an assistant lacrosse coach at Millsaps, McKay volunteered his time after graduation to continue helping the Majors from the fall of 2014 until he was hired in January 2016. He spent time working one-on-one with athletes on different facets of the game including stick work, dodging, and field awareness. As a standout student athlete for the Majors, McKay played attack and midfield as a four-year starter and three-time captain. He is the all-time assists leader in program history and is third in career points with 105. McKay posted his best season his senior year in 2014 with 27 goals and 30 assists. In 2014, McKay scored nine more goals than he had totaled in the previous three seasons and doubled the total number of assists he had in his career. He also finished in the top 40 in the country in assists that season. McKay was a two-time All-SAA Academic team member and two-time SAA Sportsmanship team honoree. While in college, McKay began coaching at MadLax Lacrosse serving as the Head Coach of the program in Madison, Mississippi for ages 7-18. McKay has served in that capacity since 2013 providing leadership and instruction to players to develop their skills both on and off the field. McKay is a 2014 graduate of Millsaps College with a bachelor’s degree in education and a minor in Spanish. He was also a dual sport athlete with the Majors competing in both lacrosse and basketball. He graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School in 2010 and was a member of the men’s lacrosse team for three seasons.

Curtis Gilbert

Coach

Curtis Gilbert was hired as Berry’s head men’s lacrosse coach in September 2013. Over his tenure, Gilbert has compiled a record of 54-27 (113-76 career record) and an SAA record of 24-9. Gilbert has coached 43 All-SAA selections, 50 SAA Academic Honor Roll honorees and two SAA Offensive Players of the Year. He also led the 2015 squad to a regular-season title. The 2017 season saw Berry College earn its first All-American with SAA Offensive Player of the Year, Quentin Johnson earning distinction. He was also named a Scholar All-American. Johnson followed Cory Hall and Jack Chase who both earned Scholar All-America honors under Gilbert’s guidance in 2015. In 2018, Gilbert was named SAA Coach of the Year and was selected to coach the USILA/Nike North-South game. Gilbert arrived from New England College in Henniker, N.H. where he led the Pilgrims to a record of 10-7 and a runner-up finish in the North Atlantic Conference in 2013. In 2012, he led NEC to a berth into the NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse Tournament after winning the program’s first North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship. Over his six seasons at NEC Gilbert had an overall coaching record of 59-49 and a conference record of 37-19. Gilbert’s teams played in four championship games over his six years at New England College and produced two All-Americans, the first in NEC’s history. Prior to Gilberts arrival at NEC the team was coming off of a 1-13 season. At NEC, Coach Gilbert placed sixteen players on the All-Conference team, eight All-Academic athletes, four ECAC New England All-Stars, two All-Americans, two USILA North/South game participants, one Scholar-Athlete of the Year, one Offensive Player of the Year, and two others drafted into the NLL Professional league. Prior to New England College, Gilbert was an assistant lacrosse coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. While at Denison, Gilbert helped lead the Big Red to an impressive 20 wins, two NCAC Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Before Denison, Gilbert had stints as an assistant lacrosse coach at Washington College and Whittier College. Over two seasons at Washington College Gilbert led the Shoremen to a record of 28-8, a school-record 15-game winning streak, and an NCAA semifinal appearance. At Whittier, over two years he helped the Poets to a record of 21-3 and two national tournament appearances, including one NCAA quarterfinal and one NCAA semifinal appearance. Gilbert is a graduate of Washington College, where he was a four-year member of the men’s lacrosse team. While at WC, Gilbert was a member of the 1998 NCAA Division III national championship team and garnered All-Conference accolades. In addition to coaching lacrosse, Gilbert serves on various committees including the USILA Top 20 poll and All-American Committee. He graduated with a master’s degree in management and strategic leadership from NEC. Gilbert currently resides in Rome, GA with his wife, who also works at Berry, and his two daughters.