Michelle and Carissa Vittese stumbled upon the sport of field hockey by chance. They spent grade school playing roller hockey with their dad and competed mostly against boys. Once Michelle Vittese tried field hockey in fifth grade gym class, her gym teacher knew she was meant for the sport, and Carissa Vittese quickly followed suit.
“Once we got into middle school, we started field hockey,” Carissa Vittese said. “The transition over was super easy for us, and that’s where this journey really started.”
It’s hard to talk about Temple Field Hockey today without mentioning the name Vittese. The sisters have conquered almost every aspect of the sport and now face their newest challenge: leading a historically great program back to success.
From 2016-20, Temple Field Hockey endured one of its worst stretches in program history, going 36-62 and missing the postseason for three straight years. In March 2019, Temple made a critical hire by bringing in Michelle Vittese as an assistant coach.
With Michelle came her younger sister Carissa, who was brought on as a voluntary assistant coach. When former head coach Susan Ciufo-Bennett left for another position at Penn, Michelle Vittese was first in line for the job and Carissa Vittese became the assistant coach.
Progress ensued immediately following the promotions.
In 2021, the first season in their new positions, Temple went 8-11 but finished with a winning record in conference play for the first time since 2015. The Owls also earned an appearance in the Big East tournament, setting the table for future success.
The team saw another big jump the following season, as they finished with a 13-6 record and entered the national rankings for the first time since 2014.
“With the last two to three years with them as coaches they have definitely lit a fire under us and made us want to play,” said fifth year back McKenna Burkhardt. “Michelle really pulled that out of everybody as a head coach and has helped create a real good culture with our team.”
The success the sisters are finding on the sidelines is just the latest addition to their extensive field hockey resume.
Michelle and Carissa Vittese rose to prominence in college, playing at the University of Virginia under former Temple head coach and all-time great Michele Madison. The sisters excelled under Madison: Michelle became a two-time All American and Carissa anchored a solid defense for four years and earned second-team all-ACC honors her final year.
While at Virginia, Michelle and Carissa Vittese helped lead the Cavaliers to the NCAA tournament every year except 2011, when Michelle was away from the team to compete with the U.S national team. They brought intangibles to the group, both in their play and their mindsets, laying the foundation for a future in coaching.
“No doubt they were going to be coaches,” Madison said. “Carissa always saw the game from a coaching standpoint and Michelle absorbed so much information while playing that I knew would help her down the road.”
Carissa Vittese began her coaching career quickly after college. She came to Temple in 2015 as a graduate assistant and stayed for two years before leaving to pursue an opportunity with the national team. Michelle took a longer path to coaching because she was busy becoming a key player for Team USA.
Michelle Vittese played for the national team for eight years and collected multiple accolades. In 2011 and 2015, she won gold medals at the Pan American Cup, and in 2012 and 2016 she reached the pinnacle of sports, competing in the Olympics for Team USA.
“That experience is unlike anything you can ever imagine,” Michelle said. “You are amongst the best in the world and are put in an environment where everyone is motivated to chip away at their goals. That journey really shaped me as a coach and as a human being and it was truly incredible.”
After being around the game and playing at a high level for so long, the sisters did not want to let that feeling of competitiveness and growth go, so coaching was an easy decision.
“I always loved being a part of a team and being a part of something bigger than yourself,” Carissa said. “Having a group around you that’s fighting for the same thing is really hard to leave so it was easy for me to want to stay in coaching.”
Michelle and Carissa Vittese seem to have found a home on North Broad. Being from South Jersey, the sisters are not far from home and have no plans of leaving the city any time soon. Michelle displayed her desire to stay when she turned down an assistant position at her alma mater in 2019.
The sisters know the history the program holds and the success past teams had, and they are confident in their resources to help build the program back to its elite status.
While they would love to bring a championship to the program, their goals as coaches go beyond results on the field.
“I want to continue to grow for myself and be the best coach I can possibly be and provide an amazing student athlete experience,” Michelle said. “We all get a small window in our life to be a student athlete and I want to make it special for them.”
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