Our Staff

Andy Pons

President

Andy serves as the Director of Lacrosse Operations for Thunder lacrosse. In this capacity, Coach Pons assists our coaching staff and Board of Directors as he oversees and organizes our camps, clinics, annual evaluations and acts as recruiting coordinator in support of our high school coaches and players. Andrew is also the head coach at Woodward Academy. Andy was named Atlanta Metro South Coach of the Year in 2015. He has an extensive background in lacrosse being born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He graduated in 1998 with a degree in physical education from McDaniel College, where he was a three-sport athlete. (Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse) He won the Athlete of the Year in 1988. He also was a three-sport All-Metro athlete at John Carroll and is a member of his high school Hall of Fame in three sports. Andy spent two years as an assistant coach under Hall of Famer, John Tucker, with the Boston Cannons of the MLL. He has spoken at numerous coach’s conventions and clinics around the country having recently presented at the US Lacrosse Georgia coaches clinic in January. Coach Pons has been married to his high school sweetheart Chrissy for twenty-seven years and has three children. His middle son, Mac, played lacrosse at the University of Maryland, where he and the Terps won the 2017 National Championship. Fear the Turtle!!!!

Bryan Wallace

Senior Director

Coach Wallace grew up in Western Massachusetts where he was a 3-sport athlete at Minnechaug Regional HS in Soccer, Basketball, and Lacrosse. As a Lacrosse player, he was a 3-year starting Attackman, he helped guide his team to 3 Western Mass State Finals appearances was named 3x All-League, 3x All-Region, 3x All-State, 2x time team captain is the number 4 All-time leading scorer with 291 career points. Coach Wallace attended D-III the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he was a 4-year starter and scored 98 career points being named 2nd Team All-Conference in his senior year. Coach Wallace entered into coaching upon graduation at DIII Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he was the Offensive Assistant Coach. Coach Bwall continued his education and coaching career at DIII Springfield College as Graduate Assistant helping guide the Pride SC back-to-back NEWMAC titles and placed 14 players on the All-Conference team while earning his Master’s Degree in Higher Education. Coach Wallace moved to South Florida and was named Associate Head Coach at Gulliver Prep in Miami, FL. While at Gulliver, he posted 4 FHSAA Final Four Appearances, 4 District Titles, coaching 8 US Lacrosse All-Americans, 66 All-State players, 72 All-County players. Wallace moved to Marietta GA and was named HC at Lassiter HS. In one season at Lassiter HS, he earned the Region Coach of the Year, won the Region 2 Championship, GHSA State Quarter Finalist, 4 players named All-State, 6 players named All-County. Coach Wallace was named Director of Lacrosse at Centennial HS in Roswell GA in 2012. As Head Community Coach for the Knights he lead Centennial to 141-33 (.833%) record in 8 seasons. Reaching 6 straight GHSA State playoff appearances, 2019, 2018, 2017 GHSA Semi-Finalist, 2016, 2015, 2014 GHSA Quarter Finalist, Winning the 2013 State Championship. 3x Region Championships, 3x Region Coach of the Year. Under the guidance of Coach Wallace, 24 players named US Lacrosse All-Americans, 57 players named All-State, 64 players named All-Conference, 2 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Players of the Year. 2 Under Armour All-Americans (Senior Game), 1 Under Armour All-American MVP, 1 Warrior/US Lacrosse South Player of the Year, 1 Lax Records Player of the Year, 116 Scholar Athlete Award winners, 15 Senior Student Athlete Award winners, Pro Alumni; Nate Solomon.   In 2019 Coach Wallace was announced as the Assistant Varsity Coach/Offensive Coordinator at Roswell High School. He joins the Hornets from Crosstown rival Centennial.  Coach Bwall has been coaching club with Thunder in the metro Atlanta area  for 10 years and is currently the Senior Director, as well as an Elite and National  team coach. He resides in Roswell, with his wife Tara their daughter Greer and dog Luna.  

Alex Haskins

Events and Training Director

Coach Alex Grew up in upstate New York in the Saratoga Springs area where he was a 3 sport athlete at Ballston Spa High School in Lacrosse, Football, and Wrestling. As a Lacrosse player, he was a 3-year starter in the Goal. In his 3 years Alex surpassed 600 saves and was twice named All section and as a senior captain he was voted to play for the NY state Section 2 all-star Game, as well as being voted as team MVP. Coach Alex first attended 8-time National champion and 23-time region 3 champion Herkimer county community college located in upstate New York. He helped guide Herkimer to 2 Region Championship games and 2 final four appearances. As a starter his Sophomore year he was voted Conference Goalie of the Year and named to the all-tournament team. After Herkimer, Coach Alex attended NCAA DIII Greensboro College located in Downtown Greensboro North Carolina. Coach Alex helped lead GC to 20 wins over 2 years. After Graduating with his Teaching degree in Physical Education from GC, Alex was hired as the first assistant in charge of running the Defense and Recruiting coordinator at his Alma Mater. Coach Alex Was hired in the Fall of 2014 as a Full-time staff member of LB3 Lacrosse as the Director of Peachtree City and the residential Goalie Coach. Coach Alex was also hired as the Head Community Coach at Starr’s Mill High School. In 3 seasons at Starr’s Mill, Coach Alex has guided them to 3 straight GHSA Tournament appearances.

Rick Lewis

Thunder Elite and Thunder National Program

Coach Lewis has been coaching lacrosse for over 25 years at all levels. In 2017, he was named U.S. Lacrosse High School Assistant Coach of the Year for the State of Georgia. He attended Norwalk High School in Norwalk, CT and graduated in 1982 as an All-State Defenseman. In 1983 he attended West Point Prep and was a member of the lacrosse team. Coach Lewis graduated Rutgers University 1987 and received a Master’s in Education at the University of Bridgeport. While at Rutgers from 1984-1987, he started as close defenseman all four years. He led his team to two NCAA tournament appearances. He earned honorable mention All-American honors for two years and participated in North/South Senior All-Star Game in 1987. Rick is currently an Assistant Coach for Defense at Lambert High School.  In recent years, Rick has led the Lambert Varsity team to four state championship games and two championship titles (2016 & 2018). Prior to joining the Lambert staff in 2014, Rick had coached at St. Pius X Catholic High School 2007-2012 and also spent five years coaching at South Forsyth High School. Rick is actively involved in coaching youth and high school Lacrosse at all levels, most recently with the Atlanta Rage program (Lambert). Rick and his wife Theresa reside in South Forsyth with their three children: Ricky, an assistance coach at Army West Point, Erin, a UGA grad and Kyle, a freshman lacrosse player at Lynchburg College.

Miguel Ortiz

Thunder Select Director

Scott Ratliff

Defensive Instructor/ Coach

Scott Ratliff is a professional lacrosse player in the newly formed Premiere Lacrosse League, as well as a certified leadership and personal development coach who has worked with clients ranging from corporate executives to NCAA Division I coaches and teams. Scott played collegiate lacrosse at Loyola University of Maryland where he had an illustrious career highlighted by capturing the 2012 NCAA Division I National Championship. In both of his final two seasons at Loyola, Scott was voted as a team captain and earned NCAA All-American honors. As a Senior he was presented with the John R Mohler Award given to the schools top male athlete who excels in athletics, scholarship, and character. Over the course of his 6 seasons in professional lacrosse, Scott has amassed a number of accolades including:

• 4x All Star
• 4x Captain
• 2018 Dave Huntley Man of The Year
• Member of Team USA Training Roster

Scott resides in Atlanta but is often on the road with the PLL, or growing the game in underserved lacrosse communities through his non-profit The Give & Go Foundation. He serves as head coach at Greater Atlanta Christian high school and runs off season clinics and club teams through Thunder LB3 Lacrosse Club. Scott is passionate about arming individuals and teams with the tools necessary to develop positive leaders and winning cultures.

Mac Pons

Defensive Instructor/ Coach

Coach Pons grew up in Bel Air, Maryland where he lettered four-years for Boy’s Latin. He helped lead the Lakers to the 2013 MIAA “A” Championship game and finished his senior season with 43 ground balls. At Maryland, he helped lead the Terps to one national title, three title game appearances, and four semifinal appearances. His senior class had an overall record of 61-14 (.813). Appeared in 64 games with 21 GBs and 18 CT.

Pat Luckhurst

Coach

Coach Pat Luckhurst, brings 8 years experience coaching at camps, high school and doing private sessions.  Currently the head coach at Milton High School, Luckhurst is a native of Connecticut who moved to Georgia as a high school student-athlete and became a two-time All-State lacrosse player at the Wesleyan School. He went on to captain the men’s lacrosse team at Lynchburg, earning All-ODAC honorable mention accolades and earning Academic All-American honors for three years. He graduated in 2011 and quickly began his coaching career.

Liam Byrnes

Coach

Coach Byrnes grew up in West Islip, NY and attended West Islip High School. He helped the Lions win the Class A New York State championship in 2010 and the Suffolk County title in 2011. At Marquette, Byrnes was named second-team All-American as a long-stick midfielder in 2016. Among the other awards he received was the most outstanding player in the Big East Tournament, during which he and his teammates beat the No. 1 team in the nation, the University of Denver, for the title. He also was named Big East defensive player of the year. He finished his Marquette career with 218 ground balls and 102 caused turnovers in 61 games. Byrnes became the first alumnus in school history to suit up for an  MLL game, which came just four days after his final game at Marquette, a 10-9 loss to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament. That NCAA appearance also was a program first. He currently resides in the Atlanta area and coaches at Centennial H.S. in Roswell and with Thunder LB3 Lacrosse.   Accolades:

• USILA Second Team All-American
• BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
• 2X All-BIG EAST First Team
• Major League Lacrosse third-round draft pick (No. 21 Florida Launch)
• 2X Team Captain
• BIG EAST All-Academic (2015-16)
• Marquette’s all-time leader in ground balls (218) and caused turnovers (102)

Zach Zanone

Defensive Instructor/Coach

Coach Zanone is from Setauket, New York and has been playing lacrosse and football since elementary school. Zach was a team captain in both sports at Ward Melville HS in Long Island, NY, consistently ranked top 10 nationally for lacrosse.  He then went on to play lacrosse at State University of New York at Cortland as a defenseman.  After college Zach returned to Ward Melville, where he was the JV Lacrosse Head Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach.  He currently is the Varsity Head Lacrosse Coach at Alpharetta high school.  

Steve O’Hara

Coach

Coach O’Hara is Associate Head Coach at Northview High School where he also teaches and coaches football for the Titans. O’Hara came to Northview for the 2017 season from Bellport High School on Long Island where he served as the defensive coordinator. Previously as the Associate Head Coach, O’Hara has led a stout defense over the course of his three seasons at Northview that has included three trips to the state playoffs. Coach O’Hara is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University where he was a 2-time captain and a 4-time All Conference Defender for the Bears. While at Lenoir-Rhyne he helped lead the Bears to a Conference Championship in 2014 and graduate with 112 career ground balls, which ranks 3rd in Bears history. Hailing from Bellport, NY, Coach O’Hara was a 2-sport star for the Clippers on the football and lacrosse field. He garnered all-conference recognition in both sports his senior year in 2010.  He graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne with a degree in Physical Education.

Brian Michalec

Defensive Instructor/ Coach

Playing Experience: 8+ years

Coach Brian Michalec was a standout defenseman at Comsewogue high school. He went on to play NCAA Division II at Dowling College where he was a starter on the NCAA National Championship team in 2012.

Coaching Experience: 3 years

Comsewogue Varsity Boys Lacrosse Assistant Coach/ Defensive Coordinator- (2017-2018)

Suffolk County Assistant Coach of the Year- 2018

Kyle Lewis

Coach

Coach Kyle Lewis a former Lambert lacrosse standout will be heading into his sophomore season at Lynchburg. He played in 18 games with six starts and led all Hornet freshmen with 13 goals and 15 assists, adding nine ground balls.

Jim Buczek

Coach

Coach Jim Buczek hails from Loyola Blakefield in Maryland, class of ’88 where he is in the Dons Hall of Fame. Coach Buczek played at the University of North Carolina from ’88—’92 and was a part of the 1991 undefeated NCAA championship team. As a Tar Heel, he was a 3X All-American, ACC Rookie of the year and recognized as the Midfielder of the year in 1992. Coach Buczek is also a part of the ACC 50^th Anniversary Team. As a college coach, he helped Princeton win the NCAA championship in 1994 and coached at UNC from 1995-2000 winning 3 ACC championships. In 2005 Coach Buczek was named Head Coach at The Lovett school where he still coaches today and has since won 4 GHSA State Championships, 12X State Finalist and is in the Georgia Lacrosse Hall Of Fame.

Ned Kaish

Coach

Coach Ned Kaish is from Marietta, GA and a Walton graduate. He was a 2011 GHSA State Champion, 3X All-State and the programs leading scorer. Coach Kaish played at Lenoir-Rhyne ’12-’15 was a team captain, 2X All-Conference and SAC champions in 2014. Coach Kaish made High School coaching stops at Greater Atlanta Christian School, taking the Spartans to the GHSA final 4 and Northview HS head coach from 2017-2019. Coach Kaish is entering his 6^th season coaching at Lenoir-Rhyne. In 2023 he helped lead the bears to a NCAA D2 National Championship.

Mason Wren

Coach

Mason Wren began his coaching and teaching career in 2016 at Woodstock High School. He has a career record of 36-21 as a Head Coach and a 4-4 record in the playoffs. Coach Wren served as the JV Boys Head Coach for six years before being named the Varsity Boys Head Coach at Woodstock before the 2022 season. In his first season as Head Coach in the 2022 season, Coach Wren led the Wolverines to a 15-5 record, two playoff wins, and an Elite 8 appearance in the GHSA 6A/7A State Playoffs. Fifteen wins was the most in one season in Woodstock school history. The 2022 season saw one his players earn USA Lacrosse All-American Honors for the first time in Woodstock history. Coach Wren was named the 2022 and 2024 Cherokee County Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year by the Cherokee Tribune and Ledger. In 2024, Coach Wren helped Woodstock earn its first ever Area Championship and #1 seed in the playoffs. In May of 2024, Coach Wren was named the new Head Boys Lacrosse Coach at Harrison High School. Coach Wren has over 10 years of playing experience as an attackman and midfielder. Coach Wren believes strongly in discipline, effort, and attitude as foundational pieces to be successful on and off the lacrosse field.  Coach Wren was part of Riverwood High School’s inaugural team in the Spring of 2004 season playing under Pete Manderano. Coach Wren worked as a Special Education Teacher at Woodstock High School before moving to teach Social Studies at Harrison. He lives in Holly Springs, GA.

Grant Breyo

Coach

Coach Breyo was a 2-sport standout at Buford High School where he was a USA Lacrosse All-American before he began his Lacrosse Career at the University of Massachusetts. Grant was a 3-year starting midfielder for the Minutemen recording 59 points with 46 goals and 13 assists, while scooping up 50 ground balls and causing 14 turnovers. Grant was named to the CAA Commissioners Academy Honor Roll.

Zach Czulada

Coach

Zach Czulada is currently in his first year as Head Coach at North Gwinnett High School. Czulada arrives to the Atlanta area after coaching the past 2 years at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL as Defensive Coordinator. Prior to his time at Lynn, Czulada was the Defensive Coordinator for a year and a half at North Greenville university. Before getting into coaching, Czulada was a 5-year starting goalie at Piedmont University, where he was named All-Conference 3 times, was awarded USA South Defensive Player of the Year and capped his career being named to the USILA Senior All-Star Game.

Jalen Stanton

Coach

Jalen Stanton is currently the offensive coordinator at North Gwinnett High School. Stanton just finished his career at Lynn University where he was a 5-year starting midfielder. Stanton tallied 127 points in his career and earned All-Conference, All-Region, was named SSC Freshman of the Year, and capped his career playing in the USILA Senior All-Star Game. In high school, Jalen was named the Baltimore Sun Athlete of the Year two times, as well as Carroll Counties Athlete of the Decade (2010-2020) Prior to arriving to North Gwinnett this season, Jalen was the offensive coordinator at American Heritage HS in Delray Beach, FL while he was finishing his masters degree from Lynn.