FROM PLAYER TO COACH

FOOTBALL STARTED EARLY.

I’m Naykwan “Coach Nay” Atkinson — born and raised on Staten Island, and football has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I was introduced to organized football at around six years old through the Staten Island Boys Football League. I walked onto that field barely knowing anything about football besides the equipment I was wearing.

What I did have was natural ability, speed, competitiveness and a desire to prove myself.

I started on the B team, but once I got opportunities in games, things changed quickly. I kept producing until it became hard to ignore.

Before long, I was starting at running back and defensive back, earning All-Star selections, scoring touchdowns, winning championships and building a name for myself in Staten Island football.

TALENT WASN'T ENOUGH.

One of the biggest influences on the athlete — and eventually the coach — I became came from one of my earliest coaches and mentors.

He was an NCAA champion himself, and he didn’t care how talented I thought I was.

He focused on fundamentals, conditioning, hand-eye coordination, reaction time, technique, discipline and mental toughness.

He believed the offseason wasn’t time off — it was time to develop.

Playing for the Staten Island Hurricanes under that type of coaching completely changed the way I looked at football.

FROM PLAYER TO LEADER.

At Curtis High School, football became even more serious for me.

I earned a captain role as a freshman and quickly established myself as one of the top young players in the program.

Unfortunately, during my freshman season, I suffered a major hamstring injury that pulled a piece of bone from my pelvis.

That was my first real experience with adversity in football.

I came back the following season, helped win a championship and continued developing into one of Staten Island’s top running backs.

I was also selected as one of six MVPs at the Jason Garrett Football Camp at Princeton University, where Michael Irvin personally recognized me for my route running and ability.

THE GAME TAUGHT ME HOW TO RESPOND.

College football opportunities followed, but the same hamstring injury that had followed me since high school continued creating setbacks.

After several attempts to continue playing at the college level, I eventually had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life and step away from playing football.

FOOTBALL FOUND ME AGAIN.

Years later, my daughter Savannah started playing flag football at Next Level Flag Football on Staten Island.

I showed up simply as a father supporting his daughter.

Then Coach Richie recognized me from my playing days and introduced me to Coach Diane. Before long, I was helping coach Savannah’s team.

At first, I wasn’t looking to become a coach. I had actually turned down opportunities to coach before.

But coaching my daughter changed everything.

Coach Diane trusted me with the offense while she handled the defense, and together we helped that young team win a championship in our first season.

IT BECAME MORE THAN CALLING PLAYS.

From there, coaching became something completely different for me.

I wasn’t just calling plays anymore.

I was learning how to develop athletes, manage personalities, communicate with parents, teach football IQ, create offensive and defensive systems and understand what each player did well.

Most importantly, I learned to recognize what each athlete needed to improve.

Eventually, I took over my own teams and later became involved with the Nova Knights, where coaching older athletes allowed me to go even deeper into player development.

STOP WAITING FOR THE SEASON TO FIX THE PROBLEM.

During the offseason, I began running clinics for my players.

The goal was simple: stop waiting until the season started to fix problems.

We worked on footwork, catching, route running, defensive technique, conditioning, reaction time, football IQ, confidence and the small mechanical details that often get overlooked during regular team practices.

Parents kept asking me that question.

Then another opportunity came when the owner of D1 Training on Staten Island reached out through my father about me becoming a trainer.

That conversation made me think bigger.

Instead of simply becoming another trainer, I wanted to build something of my own.

EVERY ATHLETE NEEDS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Some athletes need advanced techniques.

Others need someone to slow everything down and rebuild the fundamentals.

My job is not to make every athlete train exactly the same.

My job is to understand the athlete standing in front of me and help them become a stronger version of themselves.

Having played this game at a high level gives me another perspective. I understand what certain movements should feel like. I understand pressure. I understand injuries. I understand competing for positions.

I understand confidence — and what happens when confidence gets shaken.

DEVELOPMENT YOU CAN SEE.

My vision for NT Elite goes beyond individual workouts.

I want athletes to actually see their development through evaluations, measurable performance metrics, progress tracking, goals, challenges and rewards.

I especially want to continue supporting the growth of girls and young women in football.

Watching my daughter and so many other young female athletes fall in love with this sport has given me another reason to build NT Elite.