Second-year field hockey coach Tina McDavitt gets right to the point.
"When we lose, I'm not happy," she explained. "And the players know it. I keep my standards as well as my expectations high."
Under McDavitt's tenure, winning has become more of a habit. Since signing on to coach the Jumbos two seasons ago, the field hockey team has compiled an 18-13 record and has made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, which may not sound jaw-dropping, but represents a stark turnaround from the combined 12-30 record Tufts compiled over the three years prior to McDavitt's arrival.
"There were so many one-goal losses [in the three years prior to 2004], and now it's good for them to see winning results," McDavitt continued. "After being 10-6 [in 2004], they came in this year saying 'Oh, we are good.'"
McDavitt grew up in Walpole, Mass. where she began playing field hockey herself when she was ten. By high school, she was a three sport athlete, playing field hockey, basketball and softball.
After graduating from Walpole High in 1996, McDavitt continued playing field hockey at Div. I Boston University, where she captained the 13th ranked Terriers in 1999 and helped them to an undefeated season her senior year. She was hired as an assistant coach at Holy Cross after graduation, and four years later she found her first head coaching job at Tufts at the age of just 26.
"I heard about the Tufts job through the field hockey grapevine," McDavitt explained. "I found out through another coach who just told me the job was open, so I called [Athletic Director] Bill [Gehling] the next day. I was a local girl; I had both played and coached at the Div. I level, so I thought maybe I had a good chance."
Her assumptions were correct as Gehling hired her to fill the position.
"Tina had extensive playing experience, coaching experience, and she came with extremely high praise from people I trust very much," Gehling said. "I have some specific things I look for in a coach ... Ultimately I'm trying to give the student-athletes the best experience possible, and a great experience is often correlated with winning, but it's also about taking an interest [in the players] in a broader way. Tina does that."
Despite her youth, McDavitt was straightforward when asked about her age during the application process.
"I said to [Tufts], 'I know I'm only 26, but I know I want to be a head coach and I know I want this job.'"
Coinciding with McDavitt's hiring was the unveiling of Tufts' new Bello Field, which stands behind baseball's Huskins Field and sports a turf surface and lights for night games. Aside from changing the style and speed of the game on turf compared to grass, McDavitt was frank when asked about Bello Field's impact on her decision to apply for, and accept, the job as Tufts' head coach.
"I probably wouldn't have taken the job if they didn't have that field, if they didn't have turf," she said. "It's just the style of field hockey I'm used to playing, the style of field hockey that I'm used to coaching. And them building [Bello Field], that was my impression of Tufts when I got here. It sent me the message that they want to be competitive. Our field is awesome."
McDavitt is purposeful, confident, and sharp. She has no qualms when answering questions about her young age and how she thinks that may play into critics' minds. Three years ago, she applied for the head coaching job at Lehigh University and was told she was overly qualified for the job, but lacked age.
"I interviewed at Lehigh when I was 24, and they told me to come back in a few years because I would be great. And I thought, 'I would be good right now,'" McDavitt said. "I was confident in myself."
Now comfortable in her role as a Tufts head coach, McDavitt also balances being an assistant for the crew team, acting as the head of sports publicity and teaching a class (she'll hold a weight-training class in the spring). Recognizing her other responsibilities, McDavitt still tries to find time for the 30 to 40 field hockey recruiting emails that arrive in her inbox each day, as well as view the handful of high school player videos that find their way to her office on a daily basis.
"My goal every day is try to keep my inbox under 100 emails," McDavitt said. "That doesn't really happen. I don't think a lot of people realize the extent of the job. If you want your team to be good, you have to [put in the time], you have to recruit."
McDavitt continues to play field hockey as well as coach, and was one of 12 players named by USA Field Hockey to its 2005-2006 National Indoor Team, after also competing on the 2004-2005 team. In addition, McDavitt has two younger sisters - one who recently graduated from Harvard, and the youngest who still plays field hockey in her senior year for the Crimson.
