Tamara Durante didn’t arrive at Michigan State field hockey as a stranger trying to find her way. She stepped into the head coaching job already knowing the program, the people and the standard she wants to chase.
Now in her first season as the Spartans’ head coach and the 10th in program history, Durante is trying to push MSU toward a level she says used to define the team. She put the goal plainly: “I want to get Michigan State back to their dominance in the '90s.
When people asked, 'Who's the best in the Big Ten?', it was Michigan State,” Durante said. “In the next five years, I want to be in the top four spots consistently, which will take time and work to create that sustained success.”
That message has already landed inside the locker room. Players describe a sharper edge, a stronger sense of unity and a coach who demands more while staying fully engaged with the group.
Senior captain Bianca Pizano said, “She gives me a lot of pressure to perform, which is something that I want from a coach,” Pizano said. “She is extremely motivating and makes me want to do better.”
Durante’s path to the top job was built over years. She joined MSU’s staff in 2015, spent 11 seasons under former head coach Helen Knull and rose from assistant coach to associate head coach after three years.
When Knull resigned in early January, Durante helped steady the room, holding meetings with players and captains and keeping the group moving forward. She was named head coach on February 20 after a month of interviews.
Pizano said that approach mattered from the start. “She never treated us like she wasn't going to be our coach,” Pizano, who is majoring in Kinesiology, said. “She never brushed us aside, which I think was very motivating for everyone and caused the team to have a positive outlook early on.”
Durante also continues to serve as USA Field Hockey’s U16 head coach during the spring, but she made clear where her priority sits. “I've been an assistant for 20 something years, and I've worked for some really great people,” Durante said. “When Helen decided to resign, I felt like the kids deserved to have the best possible person out there.”
Her résumé stretches well beyond East Lansing. Before Michigan State, Durante spent 10 seasons at Yale as assistant head coach from 2005-10, handling recruiting with a focus on goalkeepers and forwards and helping the Bulldogs win an Ivy League title in 2011. She also coached at Ohio University for four seasons from 2001-04, where the Bobcats won a MAC Championship and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2001.
For Durante, though, the job is about more than credentials. She wants her team thinking bigger than its comfort zone, and she’s making that part of the daily routine.
“I’m trying to keep pushing them beyond what they think is achievable. If we raise the bar just by a tiny bit, it makes a big difference,” Durante said.
That standard has shaped the way the Spartans are approaching practices and games in her first season. Junior captain Lili Knorr said the new voice has been a welcome one.
“It's refreshing to have a new coach and a new perspective,” Knorr said. “She sets very clear expectations and gives us a lot of space to give her feedback on what we think is best for the team.”
The biggest theme in Durante’s program is collective responsibility. She has stressed that success depends on the whole group pulling in the same direction, and Knorr said that message has been impossible to miss.
“She is really focused on bringing the energy together and connecting with each other,” Knorr, a neuroscience major, said. “We can be great if we play as a team.”
That idea of family was already part of the culture, but players say it feels more present now. “She really wants us to have that family connection, which has always been a value of ours,” Pizano said. “But this year is honestly where it has been felt the most, and I think it's because of her.”
In Other News...
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There is at least a bit of relief in the update for Michigan State, with NiJhay Burt and Dion Crawford expected back in the lineup. Northwesterns report carries its own uncertainty, with tight end Luke Dehnicke and safety Robert Fitzgerald among the notable players listed as questionable or doubtful, but the Spartans will still be watching closely to see whether their defensive depth can hold up when the game arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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The problems reach across the roster, with top cornerbacks Tre Bell and Charles Brantley out, linebackers Jordan Hall and Brady Pretzlaff sidelined, running back Cam Edwards unavailable and backup quarterback Cam Fancher also not expected to go. That means Michigan State will have to lean hard on depth pieces just to stay afloat against a Northwestern team led by former Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles, turning what should have been a routine October week into a test of survival. [Read more 🡒]