Jon Atkinson
Head Coach
Phone: 434.395.2056
Email:
atkinsonjd@longwood.edu
Jon Atkinson is in his eighth year at Longwood University during 2010-11, and in his sixth year as head coach following his appointment in February 2005 with a five-year overall record of 34-46-14, including 26-13-5 at home. He previously served as an assistant coach since 2003 after spending time in the professional ranks playing with premiership outfit Sunderland and Darlington FC, managing 18 appearances for the Quakers before coming to the United States. Due to a career-ending injury, Atkinson turned his hand to coaching while gaining his FA Badge during his time with the Black Cats. He currently holds US Soccer Coaching A License, and serves on the Board of Directors for the local Thunder FC club soccer program.
Atkinson led Longwood to an overall record of 6-12-2 during 2009, including 2-2 in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) while finishing as ASC Tournament runners-up. He led the Lancers to their first ASC Tournament Championship in 2008, finishing 8-8-4 overall, 2-2 in the ASC while going 4-2-2 at the Athletics Complex where the program is 20-12-4 since 2006 when competition first began at the facility.
Atkinson and the Lancers have averaged nearly seven wins per season in arguably the toughest region in the nation over the past five seasons. He led the program to an overall record of 7-10-2 during his first season in 2005, including 3-2-1 in the ASC while playing a schedule that included five Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) members. It was a dramatic turnaround from the year before when the squad finished 1-16 (2004), and even more impressive was Longwood finishing second during its first year competing in the ASC, though unable to participate in the ASC Tournament due to the Division I Reclassification.
Longwood was 7-8-2 overall in 2007, including 3-2 in the ASC while advancing to the ASC Tournament Championship match for the first time before falling on penalty-kicks to finish as runners-up for the first time. The Lancers were 6-8-4 overall in 2006, 2-2-2 in the ASC while not advancing to the conference tournament.
Prior to Longwood, Atkinson was an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College from 1999-2002; helping guide WVWC to a pair of West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) titles and a runners-up finish in three years. He was also the WVIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior student-athlete with the Bobcats, scoring a school-record 29 goals during 2001. Atkinson was the head coach of both the boys and girls soccer programs at Lewis County (W.Va.) High School during 2001-02, leading the two teams to appearances in the state finals, respectively, for the first time in school history.
Atkinson is dedicated to soccer and spends much of his free time improving the college game while giving back to the local community with numerous off-season and summer camps and clinics. He has served as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) regional ranking committee member, the ASC’s Major League Soccer (MLS) Combine Selection representative, and an Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region I coach since 2008.
A native of Newcastle, England, Atkinson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in sports management from Wearside College in Sunderland England, his Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Sunderland University, and his Master of Business Administration degree from West Virginia Wesleyan. He is married to Nikki (Hall) Atkinson ‘98, a former Longwood women’s basketball All-American and Academic All-American student-athlete. The couple has two sons, Jack (3) and Charlie (1).
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