Named the head coach of Fork Union Military Academy's new postgraduate lacrosse program, Chris Panos brings a wealth of experience in the game of lacrosse as an accomplished player at the collegiate and professional levels and as a winning coach with top high school and NCAA college programs in both Division I and II.
Panos was named the head coach at NCAA Division I Queens University of Charlotte in 2019, after having served as Assistant Coach in the program in the previous two years. In his first season as head coach, he led the Royals to their best record in the program's history earning them a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Under his leadership, the men's lacrosse program at Queens University of Charlotte was elevated in 2022 from the NCAA Division II level, where the team had long been a top contender in the highly competitive South Atlantic Conference, to membership in the ASUN Conference competing at the NCAA Division I level.
His past coaching experience at the college level includes a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division II University of Tampa. The Spartans won three Sunshine State Conference titles and were ranked in the top five nationally during his time there, reaching the Quarterfinals once and Final Four twice in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Panos coached at the high school level for five years in the state of Washington, leading Eastlake High School to a top-10 state ranking in two seasons as head varsity lacrosse coach and helping turn around Nathan Hale High School's lacrosse team in Seattle from a team that had gone 2-14 in the season prior to his arrival, to a team that was competing for the state championship by the end of his third season as head coach there.
A native of Holbrook, New York, on Long Island, Panos first picked up a lacrosse stick at the tender age of six. His passion for the sport was nurtured throughout his time in the Sachem School District and upon his graduation from Sachem High School in 1992 he had earned a scholarship to play at NCAA Division I Hofstra University for the legendary Coach John Danowski.
He led the Pride to two NCAA Tournament appearances and was named two-time All-Conference in the America East in both 1995 and 1996. Panos was a four-year starter during his collegiate career. He graduated from Hofstra University with his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts.
Panos was selected in the first round of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League draft, the professional league soon to be renamed the National Lacrosse League. He was chosen as the fourth overall pick by the Boston Blazers and began a career as a professional lacrosse player that would stretch for the next twelve years with both the National Lacrosse League and the Canadian Lacrosse Association. He won the Mann Cup three times, with the Victoria Shamrocks in 1999, and in 2004 and 2006 with the Peterborough Lakers. He was a 1999 NLL All-Star selection, and he won the prestigious NLL World Champions Cup in 2001 as a member of the Philadelphia Wings.
Panos was selected in 2001 to be a member of the Team USA Indoor Lacrosse team, playing on Team USA for nine years and earning many more trophies and accolades including a Heritage Cup in 2001, the Bronze Medal in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in 2003 and 2007, and the Bowhunter Cup in 2010.
A National Lacrosse League All-Star, Panos retired as a player ranked as the seventh all-time in goals scored by an American-born player. In 2017, U. S. Box Lacrosse rated Panos as the #19 all-time American-born player in the National Lacrosse League.
Panos also currently serves as Assistant Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Greece Lacrosse Men's Senior National Team, joining the team in 2017 as they prepared to compete for the first time in the Federation of International Lacrosse Men's World Championship held in Netanya, Israel in July 2018, where they placed 19th out of 46 countries. Greece Lacrosse became a full member of the World Lacrosse organization in 2021.
As the President of Panos Lacrosse since 2007, he's built a world-class platform for youth lacrosse training, cultivating the skills and character of the next generation of lacrosse players.