Hofstra Adds Two To Strength And Conditioning Staff

2/27/2026 8:00:00 AM | By: Len Skoros

Hempstead, NY - Hofstra University Associate Director of Athletics for Sports Performance Justin Bentivegna announced that Michael Luongo has been elevated to assistant strength and conditioning coach and that Watson Berreman has joined the staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

"Michael and Watson are great additions to our strength and conditioning staff," said Bentivegna. "They have a strong understanding of the field and work well with our student-athletes. I know that our athletic programs will benefit under their watch."

Luongo had joined the Hofstra staff as a volunteer assistant coach trainee for strength and conditioning in September 2025 before his promotion this month. He works with the men's and women's track, men's and women's golf, and women's tennis teams.

A May 2025 Hofstra graduate with a degree in exercise physiology, Luongo previously served as an undergraduate intern with Hofstra strength and conditioning from February through May 2025, and as a graduate intern from May until August 2025. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in strength and conditioning from Hofstra.

Berreman joined the Hofstra strength and conditioning staff earlier this year and works with the women's lacrosse, women's soccer, and baseball programs. His expertise spans tactical strength and conditioning, including experience embedding with the United States Army and Massachusetts National Guard, collegiate athletics at University of California, Berkeley and Saint Mary's College of California, and youth athlete development.

Since July 2025 he has worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Bulldogs Baseball and Cove Sports Academy in Glen Cove, New York. He began his career as a personal trainer in 2019 in his home state of California. He served as a strength and conditioning intern at Cal from April 2021 through January 2022 before serving as a graduate assistant coach at Saint Mary's from February 2022 to August 2022. He then began a 10-month stint with the Army, serving as a tactical strength and conditioning coach at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington. He designed and implemented training programs for 750 soldiers to prepare them for the Army Combat Fitness Test, Ranger School, Sapper School, and special operations selection. Berreman moved to Boston, Massachusetts in August 2023 and worked in a variety of roles until coming to Long Island in 2025.

Berreman is an NSCA-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and holds a master's in applied physiology and kinesiology from the University of Florida (2024). He earned a bachelor's in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017.

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