Former Sunderland midfielder Atkinson joined Aycliffe over three years ago and the club has benefited hugely from his wealth of experience in the professional game.
Atkinson began his career with the Wearsiders in 1989 and played under four managers at Roker Park - Denis Smith, Terry Butcher, Mick Buxton and Peter Reid - making 169 league and cup appearances for the club, scoring six goals.
His highlight with the Black Cats was winning promotion to the old first division after a play-off final final defeat against Swindon Town at Wembley (Swindon were later demoted for financial irregularities), and an FA Cup Final appearance against Liverpool at Wembley in 1992.
Atkinson joined Darlington in 1996 and he played 224 league and cup games for the Quakers, scoring 23 goals, and had another Wembley appearance, his third, which ended in another defeat against Peterborough in the League Two play-off final in 2000.
After a 13-year playing career which brought almost 400 league and cup appearances, Atkinson had a brief spell working for Darlington's Centre of Excellence before joining Aycliffe.