Fielding Dreams For The Fall

A veteran field hockey player with a track record of success, Tufts’ new field hockey coach has high hopes for her Tufts team.

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [09.20.04] She may be new to Tufts, but Tina McDavitt is a field hockey veteran. With a family full of field hockey players and a track record of wins on the field, McDavitt has the sport running through her veins. This fall, she joined Tufts as the head coach of the field hockey team and is excited to show competitors what her Tufts team is made of.

“There is a lot of talent on the Tufts team,” McDavitt said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “They know their fundamentals.”

So does McDavitt.

Coming to Tufts after a four-year stint as assistant coach at Holy Cross, McDavitt has spent the greater part of her life on the field. In 1994 and 1995, she led her high school team to two Massachusetts state championships. During her four years at Boston University, she led the Terriers to an undefeated America East championship and a No. 13 ranking nationwide.

When she saw the Tufts coaching opportunity, McDavitt jumped at it.

“I heard about the open coaching position this spring,” McDavitt told the Globe. “I was playing in a league at Bentley College and one of the players told me the Tufts job was open. I called the athletic director the next day.”

Her application followed shortly. McDavitt quickly interviewed before flying with the Holy Cross team to England and Holland to play several exhibition games.

“When I got off the plane when we came home there were two missed messages on my cellphone,” McDavitt told the Globe. “The calls were from Tufts.”

During her interviews, McDavitt made a strong impression.

“Tina is an excellent young coach who combines tremendous interpersonal and team building skills with passion and knowledge for the game,” said Athletic Director Bill Gehling. “We’re excited to have Tina join our staff and add to the tradition of our field hockey program.”

McDavitt shares the same excitement.

“I want us to be intense, I want it to be fun, and I want to win,” McDavitt said, describing her hopes for the new season. “I’ve looked at the roster and I’m excited about the kids who are coming back. They had lots of one-goal losses and I want to help turn those into one-goal wins. That’s my goal at the start.”

In addition to focusing on this year’s team, McDavitt is also in the process of looking for Tufts’ future field hockey stars.

“I’ve talked to a lot of [high school] coaches,” she told the Globe. “I already have a list of players to watch this year.”

One of the players McDavitt has already committed to watch isn’t a future Tufts prospect. But she is family.

“When I was at Holy Cross, it was impossible getting into Cambridge to watch [my youngest sister] Jen play at Harvard,” McDavitt told the Globe. “We’ve already gone over our schedules and there are a few Wednesday and Sunday games I’ll be able to see.”