In the summer of 2022, Will Atkinson was promoted to Director of Sports Performance after serving as Head Strength & Conditioning Coach the year prior. Directly responsible for men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and distance, he also leads the Sports Performance department consisting of over 300 student-athletes. 2020-21 was his first year at Lee, serving as the Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach.
Atkinson was a paid intern at Ole Miss from August 2019 through July 2020 prior to coming to Lee. He assisted full-time with the baseball program, while also programming for cheer and dance. That year, Ole Miss had their first four selections ever to the USA Cheer roster.
As an intern and graduate assistant at Alabama from August 2016 through July 2019, he assisted football, softball, volleyball, women’s golf, swim & dive, rowing, and gymnastics, programming for the novice rowers and cheer, assisting six top-three national finishes.
A native of Northport, Ala., Atkinson graduated from The University of Alabama, with a master’s degree in Sport Management in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2017. As an undergraduate, he coached at his alma mater, Tuscaloosa Academy. He is a certified member of both the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He holds the CSCCa’s Certified Mentor designation, allowing him to mentor candidates for the most rigorous certification process in the field; the test consists of a 640-hour practicum, a computer exam, and an in-person program defense at the national convention.
