Last week, Tufts field hockey coach Tina McDavitt was named one of 24 members on the Team USA field hockey roster for 2009-10. McDavitt will have the opportunity to play in the 2010 Indoor Pan Am Cup next March -- an opportunity she turned down this past fall in order to lead the Jumbos to an appearance in the NCAA title game -- and potentially have the opportunity to represent the United States in the 2011 Indoor World Cup.
Despite the fact that McDavitt has been on the team since 2003, she maintains that this time around is no less, if even more, gratifying than in previous years.
"I think it's more satisfying this time because the competition has gotten more challenging, so it's definitely exciting to make it again," McDavitt said. "It's really awesome still to be able to compete at such a high level. I feel like when you graduate, there usually aren't that many opportunities to keep playing, so to be able to represent the U.S. and keep playing at this level is great."
As a coach, McDavitt already has a wealth of experience since graduating from Boston University in 2000. After previous stints with Holy Cross and the U.S. Futures program, McDavitt's coaching career reached its high point last fall as she led the Jumbos to the national final and their eventual double-overtime loss to Bowdoin.
McDavitt's success as a player can be traced back to her teenage years, when she won two Massachusetts state championships at Walpole High School. With the U.S. team, McDavitt won a silver medal at the 2006 Pan Am Games in Canada.
Yet her success with the national team has not made coaching a Div. III collegiate squad any less exciting.
"I think they're two completely different things as a player and a coach," McDavitt said. "It's kind of cool as a coach to be able to work with and get 23 people on the same page and to get to a national championship."
As for the next year of McDavitt's life, she knows it is going to be busy and she knows it is going to be tough, but she firmly believes in the talent of each squad.
"I was able to [do both] during the fall when the U.S. team was preparing for the Pan Am Games as well," McDavitt said. "You just make sure you're adding it into your day, even if it's a half hour of lifting or training. I was just able to do it by staying organized and on top of things.
"I think it's going to be a lot of hard work," she continued. "Both teams have a lot of talent to win it all. We just have to put in the time and get it done."
