The women’s basketball team at Hofstra University has always looked strong, but has fallen short of achieving its potential. This season marks a new era for the Pride, which is under the leadership of new head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson.
“Having been at Hofstra before has helped with the transition,” said Santos Atkinson, who served as an assistant coach at Hofstra from 2006–10. “You never know what you’re going to get as a new coach coming into a new team. They’ve made the transition very smooth in terms of their buy-in, their effort and their energy.”
Each day, she enjoys coming to practice and getting down to work with the players. Santos Atkinson has been a Division I assistant coach for the past 13 years and knew she wanted to be a head coach, but waited for the right fit for herself and her family, which includes husband Cleveland and daughters London and Madison.
“I enjoyed being an assistant coach. I had great mentors that I was able to work for and I knew that I was preparing for when that opportunity did come, but also working as hard as I could in the position that I was in. Being a head coach, you’re able to put your philosophy into play and run things as you wish. Also, to be able to have an impact on a larger scale,” Santos Atkinson said.
Santos Atkinson wants her athletes to see a woman of color in the head coaching position. She is also setting an example as a working mother.
The team’s top scorer from last season graduated, so everyone has to step it up on the offensive end. Five seniors are providing stellar leadership. She described the Pride as a “blue collar team” that gets things done as a unit.
“You’re going to see a team that works hard and competes for 40 minutes,” said Santos Atkinson. “You’ll see from them is a hard-working, blue collar team. That’s what we’re going to have to be.”
“The other thing you’ll see is growth from where we started the year to where we’ll be come January to where we’ll be come March,” she added. “Although the results have not been there yet, the way that they’re working in practice every day and the way they’ve continued to believe in the things we’re teaching, we’re going to be a totally different team.”
