
The Surge Team

Board of Directors

Paul Thomas
Director and Head Coach
From a historical perspective, Coach Thomas has been playing lacrosse since the day Fleetwood Mac released Rumours in 1977 – giving new meaning to the words, "Don’t Stop." Like all Baltimore boys, he never regarded lacrosse as a sport but rather, an obsession. At Pikesville High School he received All County honors his junior and senior years. Recruited to Hofstra University as an attackman, he played there until nabbed by UMASS Amherst two years later. Since then, he’s played club ball, been elected to various All-Star teams and awarded MVP honors throughout his 30s, 40s and 50s in cities spanning Los Angeles to Lake Placid – with all 247 team pinnies to prove it. An “old guy” humbling high point: In 2014, Thomas was the only player to receive three gold medals at the FIL World Lacrosse Festival in Denver. In 2018, he competed in the Lacrosse World Games in Israel where his team (headed by LAX legend Casey Powell) got some religion and a nice First Place finish. These days, he still tapes up to play locally with Southern Empire, and flies off to Masters’ tournaments wherever an attack guy is needed.
Beyond his love of the sport, he also lives it. He founded Northside Youth Lacrosse in 2008 as a platform to really teach the game to boys and has served as its Director and Head Coach ever since. He started the GA chapter of C2C Lacrosse in 2010 so advanced players could take their game to the next level with elite travel competition and college recruitment. He opened the door for MLL talent to headline local clinics in Atlanta, including the first Thompson Brothers NLL clinic here in 2015. He advocated for (and helped to launch) lacrosse programs at North Atlanta High School and Sutton Middle School. He has served as a community coach for JV and Varsity teams at Woodward, Holy Innocents, Lovett, and St. Pius, and is currently serving a second year as Varsity Offensive Coach for NAHS. In February, 2019, Coach Thomas was honored as “Man of the Year” by the Georgia Chapter of US Lacrosse. In 2020, working with fellow Surge coaches, he launched Surge Select: an elite travel league for younger advanced players (U9, U11 & U13). In 2021, he will be inducted into the GA Lacrosse Hall of Fame for this dedication, along with spearheading the years-long effort to raise funds, garner compliance, manage development and produce a superior-quality turf field at NAHS for high school and community usage.

Webb Armentrout
Raised less than two miles from Baltimore lacrosse bastions Johns Hopkins and Loyola, Coach Armentrout naturally gravitated to the sport early on. He got his first stick at age four and began playing youth lacrosse in the 3rd grade. In high school, Webb was voted captain of the lacrosse team along with becoming a Delaware High School All-Star his senior year. He continued his game at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. When he moved to Atlanta for business school, Coach Armentrout quickly got involved with the growing Atlanta lacrosse scene by coaching the Emory lacrosse team for two seasons. He has community coached for several C2C GA Elite teams, is a long-standing NYL board member and has served as Commissioner of the league’s Bantam and Lightning divisions
Day Job: Head of Education & Government Alliances for Workday, an enterprise cloud leader for financial and human resources
“ For me, coaching is a great vehicle to reach kids and help them understand teamwork, respect for others and the importance of using all of your talents every day. The fact that I am able to help kids while coaching my favorite sport is a true gift."

Chris Hamilton
Coach Hamilton is a lacrosse natural, having grown up in the heart of the Iroquois Nation in upstate New York. In fact, before high school he and a group of friends established their own recreational league to learn and study the sport! At the University of Maryland, while he did not play, Chris supported many friends who played at the college level. In addition to lacrosse, Hamilton has community coached for other sports and values the responsibility of creating a positive learning environment with young players. Coach Hamilton serves as a member of the league’s Board of Directors and has overseen the Walking Helmets, Bantam, Lightning and Junior divisions of NYL as a Commissioner. In addition, Coach Hamilton was selected to lead the 2022 C2C GA Elite lacrosse team for two seasons, garnering numerous wins and championships.
Day Job: Co-owner and Design Manager of Dovetail Craftsmen, an historic home design/build company
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to cultivate these young athletes' love and respect for lacrosse, as well as to help them learn the incredible value of teamwork and sportsmanship. While we strive to compete successfully, my first priority for the boys is that they have a great time – enough to fuel their desire to participate in team sports for years to come.”

Chad Krohn
Lacrosse has been a part of Coach Krohn’s life for nearly 40 years. It started in the suburbs of Baltimore as he grew up as part of the Bel Air Rec program and continued through high school as a varsity letterman at The John Carroll School. There, he won three conference championships, served as team captain his senior year, clinched all MSA “B” conference honors as an attackman and was selected for the annual North/South All-Star game played at historic Homewood Field. In 1988, Coach Krohn gained international experience as a Team USA recruit by traveling to Canada for a series of exhibition games. A 1994 graduate of Gettysburg College, he played midfield under Hank Janczyk and won four conference championships while helping to shoot the Bullets to the National Semi-Finals during his senior year. Coach Krohn has played for numerous club teams in Baltimore and Atlanta, in addition to community coaching at Centennial and St. Pius high schools. This marks his sixth year coaching for the Surge.
Day Job: Director, Eastern US Region Sales for Parking & Mobility Solutions at CONDUENT, a Digital Platform and Services Company
“I got involved with the Surge when my son started playing in the Walking Helmets and wanted to give back to the sport I’m so passionate about. Coaching this great game provides an opportunity to be a positive influencer in the lives of these young kids. The Surge family and its philosophy of developing sound fundamentals, teamwork and honoring the game is what makes this program so exceptional.”

Brian Lynn
Raised in upstate New York, the motherland of lacrosse, Coach Lynn naturally embraced the game at a very young age. Second grade was the year he first grabbed a stick - and has one in hand ever since. As a face-off middie in high school, Coach Lynn was a three-year varsity starter and lead his team in ground balls each season, resulting in multiple All-Star awards. Senior year added Team Captain to his list of notables and his playing days continued full-throttle at Rochester Institute of Technology. Giving back to younger players started early for this board member, who has been coaching youth lax since in high school.
Day Job: VP of User Experience, Hero Digital
"My JV lacrosse coach, Coach Ilse, was the most inspirational coach I’ve ever played for. He taught us how to appreciate, respect, and love the game and he was instrumental in shaping my successful lacrosse playing days. My #1 goal as a coach is to instill the same sportsmanship and enthusiasm that he provided to his teams."