One of five siblings, kinesiology freshman Alyssa Anastos could be seen each weekend in the Munn luxury boxes with her family, cheering on her father as he coached the Spartans to a 19-win season — a four-win improvement from a season ago — and a first-round bye in the CCHA Tournament.

Donning an authentic home MSU hockey jersey and with eyes following the movement of the puck, Alyssa knows the weight of her father’s opportunity and hopes to shoulder a share of the pressure by being by his side.

“We think it’s important for him to have somebody to say hi to him after the game, especially if it’s a loss — to give him a hug,” Alyssa said. “There was one game where nobody came at all, and I was the only one. So I made sure to stay extra. We stayed until midnight in the office. We ended up leaving together, but we just think it’s important that everybody is there for him.”

Following in his footsteps
The decision for Alyssa to attend MSU came not long after Tom’s hiring in March.

Following the departure of Rick Comley, the former CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos was named head coach of the hockey program on March 23, 2011, and went to work to rebuild a program that had finished 10th in the conference during the 2010-11 season.

Behind him at his initial press conference at Munn Ice Arena sat Alyssa and her siblings and mother, along with more than 20 members of Tom’s new extended MSU hockey team family.

In hiring him to the position, MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis said other than the strong business experience and hockey background, Tom Anastos brought family values that aligned him with other coaches in the department and made him stand out.

“First and foremost, what I look for in hiring a coach is somebody you would entrust your own children with, so I think by nature of the beast, you sort of get individuals that have values of family. That’s very, very important,” Hollis said. “Tom is right there. He’s coached his kids like so many of us have. He’s been a part of their lives in an amazing way, and he fits the Michigan State culture that I believe is so important.”

Not long after the hire, Alyssa began scouting out MSU as a possible destination. Looking to follow her mother, Lisa Anastos, into the field of physical therapy, Alyssa wanted a small school environment similar to her high school, Ladywood High School in Livonia, Mich.

But having the chance to be close to her father was an opportunity she couldn’t ignore.

“At first I didn’t want to come here at all because I thought it was too big for me,” Alyssa said. “I was originally going to a smaller school, Adrian (College), and then once my dad got the job, it got me thinking more, and I thought about being in this environment.”

With his daughter living just minutes away from his office in the basement of Munn Ice Arena, Tom said he’s been able to see her nearly every week and share the experience of both of them being at MSU at the same time.

“She’s enjoying school, she’s doing a little work — she’s got some work on campus, she’s doing a little volunteer work and she’s meeting a lot of people,” Tom said. “She’s trying to keep herself busy and push herself at a variety of different things. For me, it’s been a real pleasure, and it’s been exciting to be back on campus.”

Family matters
What lies ahead will pose a challenge for both Tom and Alyssa in their time at MSU.

For Tom, the challenges of being a head coach of a Division I hockey team are evident. Long hours in the rink, pouring over game film instead of sitting at family dinner, scouting recruits across the country and evaluating whether a replacement for Munn Ice Arena is in the future.

On Alyssa’s end, it’s studying for her tedious classes, maintaining a social life and balancing the constraints of a job with the demands of a student.

But as Alyssa tries to support her father in his professional endeavors on and off the ice, Tom wants to give his daughter the appropriate space as she develops endeavors of her own.

“The truth is that I try not to be too close,” Tom said. “It’s not like I’m with her or see her or talk to her everyday. I see her from time to time, and I think that it’s important that she’s out on her own and seeing the whole college experience.”

As busy as members of the Anastos family get, family time remains a focal point for them, and Alyssa tries not to forget that. Whether it’s spending time watching movies on Christmas, being together at the family cottage on the lake or standing 40 feet above the ice in her father’s first season with the hockey program, the bond of a family is stronger than it’s ever been.

“Since we were young, they didn’t pound it into our brains, but they always wanted for there to be family time — time spent together on Sundays when Dad’s actually home,” Alyssa said. “It’s just little stuff like that where I’m more (reliant) on them, where I like hanging out with them over my friends. They’re like my best friends.”