Al Thomas

A Maryland legend and founding member of the Maryland Scholastic Football Coaches Association (MSFCA) Hall of Fame, Al Thomas has coached at Gaithersburg, Seneca Valley, Damascus, Cambridge-South-Dorchester and Sherwood High Schools in Maryland; additionally, he was Defensive Coordinator for 7 years at Division III McDaniel College in Westminster, MD as they won six Centennial Conference Championships, the first in the 114 year history of the school.

Thomas’ career head coaching record is 242 – 47 (84% wins) with 4 undefeated seasons. The high point of his 47-year coaching career occurred in 2008 with a record setting 8th Maryland State Championship achieved at 3 different Montgomery County schools in 3 classifications. 1988 - 1994 Damascus High School Head Football Coach/Mathematics Instructor

• Directed team to 2 state championships (92, 93) and 2 state finalists (89, 90) in 6 years compiling a 59-13 record (82% wins)
• Established individualized year-round weight and conditioning program for all athletes, male and female
• Introduced academic monitoring, tutoring and recognition program for athletes school-wide
• Acted as liaison to repair and foster relationship with Damascus Sports Association and Damascus High School parents.

A charter member of the MSFCA, Thomas served as President in 1987. He coached in the Maryland Big 33 Football Classic as Head Coach (89) and assistant coach (85); the Chesapeake Classic as Administrative Coach (93—97); the Super 44 as Rules Interpreter (98--01) and was selected as Head Coach of the Washington Team in the 2009 Maryland Crab Bowl. He has been a frequent speaker at football clinics focusing on winning game strategies and program development at the high school level. The recipient of numerous coaching awards, Thomas was selected four times by the Washington Post as Metro Coach of the Year; including 2008 as his Sherwood Stormin’ Warriors were ranked the #1 team in the Washington Metro area.