Joliet West track coach Nate Atkinson using his Army experience to mold young Tigers

There’s an old motto in the U.S. Army about how you should always “be all you can be.” If you need proof that’s what the Army is really all about, look no further than Sgt. Nathan Atkinson. There aren’t many things he hasn’t done, many places he hasn’t been or many things left for him to be.

Atkinson is the ROTC instructor and girls track coach at Joliet West. He’s been the head girls track coach for three years and has been with the program for four years. As a 1997 graduate of Joliet West, he was a standout track star for the Tigers himself back in the day. After high school, he briefly attended the College of DuPage before enlisting in the Army.

What led to the sudden transition from higher education to the military?

“I didn’t like college,” Atkinson said with a laugh. “My sister and brother were both in the military before me so they encouraged me to enlist. My brother loved it so I decided I may as well try it myself. I went to my local recruiter, told them I wanted to join the military and when I got my test scores back they offered me a job and I became a specialist.”

Atkinson went through a traditional path: He received his basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, before heading to Virginia for specialist training. He was first stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

In 22 years of service to his country, Atkinson was twice deployed to Iraq. He’s been stationed in Japan, Guam, Korea and across the U.S. His travels helped him see the world in a whole new light.

“Going to different countries you see how other countries see us,” Atkinson said. “It kind of opened my eyes on how they looked at me. You also get to see a ton of different people and experience different cultures and witness how they carry themselves. I got to witness a lot of different things that a lot of people don’t get to experience. It was very eye-opening.”

In 2019, he decided to call it a career. What went into that decision?

“I got placed at a duty station that I didn’t want to be at,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t want to be there so I retired. I initially moved out to Seattle, Washington, and wanted to stay there but then my mom got sick with cancer so I decided to move back here.”

Atkinson accepted a position as the ROTC instructor at Joliet West and joined the athletic department as an assistant basketball coach and boys track coach. Throughout his travels, he’d earned experience in coaching.

“The great thing about the military is it allowed me to coach,” Atkinson said. “I’ve been coaching track and field for over 20 years throughout my whole military career. It was something I’d always wanted to do. I’d been an assistant everywhere else and that’s how I started at Joliet West, but when the head coaching job came open I wanted to try that out.”

He’s been the head coach for the girls track team for three years. When Atkinson saw something he didn’t like, he changed it.

“There came a point where I didn’t like how my own kids were being coached,” Atkinson said. “I realized I couldn’t complain about things I don’t like if I’m not willing to sacrifice my time. So I decided to start coaching them and it kind of just grew from there.”

Atkinson coached all three of his sons at various times in their youth throughout his travels. He says his time in the Army directly correlated to his path as a coach.

“It definitely prepared me for this role,” Atkinson said. “We had to work as a team and having worked doing operational training and stuff I saw there’s no difference between running a team. It’s all the same thing. You have to work as a team, you have to put the right people at the right positions and guide everyone. It’s the exact same thing as you do in the military.”

Atkinson continues to be all he can be in his life. He spends his summer working as the president of Prestige Athletics Club, training and helping kids prepare for their next level. His youngest son is in the ROTC program in college, which he encouraged as he does for all those interested in a career in the military.

“If you’re interested in a career in the military, definitely do it,” Atkinson said. “It was the best thing I ever did for myself. It taught me about leadership, teamwork, discipline and more. Give it a try because it teaches you so much about yourself, especially if you don’t know what you want to do when you graduate.”

As for coaching, he recommended that you try your best to be all you can be.

“If you’re interested in coaching then find a good mentor,” he said. “Find a good mentor that is going to tell you the truth and just learn as much as you can. Start as an assistant and be open-minded. Be willing to make changes because a lot of these coaches don’t want to make changes so always be adaptable. After all that, go from there.”