Mirisola Loving Life as Salem State's New Field Hockey Coach

It always helps to have connections, and for field hockey standout Jess Mirisola, staying in touch with her former players paid off in a big way earlier this year.

Mirisola, who had served as assistant for the past three years, got a call over the winter from fellow Tewksbury alum Lauren DiCredico, who is a  sophomore defender on the Salem State University field hockey team this fall.

"Lauren called me and said, 'Hey, I don't know if you'd be interested in this, but my college is looking for a new field hockey coach,'" Mirisola said. "I sent my resume in that day. I was ready to go."

A few weeks and a couple of interviews later, Mirisola was offered the job. Five games into her inaugural season as the Lady Vikings head coach, she's looking back on the day DiCredico called as her lucky day.

"I'm loving it," Mirisola said. "College field hockey is completely different from high school, but I was up for the challenge. The girls are all committed to the program, they enjoy going to practice and I have a smile on my face very day. Everyone is treating me great. I couldn't ask for a better team."

was a two-time Merrimack Valley Conference all-conference selection. She went on to play for four years on a very successful Keene State College team which won the Little East Conference title every year that Mirisola was there.

Mirisola graduated fom Keene State with a degree in graphic design in 2007 and was fortunate enough to find immediate employment in that field, but it didn't take long before she sorely missed spending part of every day on the athletic fields.

"To be honest with you, I'm kinda lost without a sport," she said. "Athletics is my life. When I was stuck at a computer all day (as a graphic designer), I really missed it."

So three years ago Mirisola signed on to help Ryser with the TMHS program, and at the same time she went back to school to study for her masters degree in strength and conditioning. She's got one more semester to go before she receives her masters from Bridgewater State University, and she's already employed in the field, working at Athletic Evolution in Woburn.

It's a busy schedule with lots of driving, but Mirisola wouldn't have it any other way. Her team is 2-3 through five games so far, but SSU has been competitive in every game.

"We've got a great team," she said. "We're way better than our record shows. We're a very strong, defensive-minded team, so my goal is to make us more offensive minded."

DeCredico is one of the mainstays of the Lady Viking defense, having started all five games on the SSU back line.

"Lauren is doing a great job," Mirisola said. "We have some really good talent on the team. To be honest, I think we could have won every game so far this year."

The Lady Vikes are coming off an 8-8 season in 2010 that was good enough to get them into the Little East play-offs, and Mirisola's goal is to qualify for post-season play again this year.

"Every game we've had so far, I think we've improved," Mirisola said. "Making it back to the play-offs would be huge for us."

With only two seniors on this year's squad, Mirisola knows SSU's future is bright. She's also looking forward to an off-season of recruiting, which is something she didn't get to do in time for this year.

"By the time I got hired it was too late to do any recruiting," she said. "But I've got a lot of contacts in the MVC and I'm hoping to get to the point soon where every year we have a big recruiting class and I have to make cuts. I'm really excited about this team's future."

And she's very thankful that DiCredico had her cell phone number.

"I love it so far," she said. "I love it a lot more than I thought I would."