Basic Information

Full Name: Michael Vitucci

Title of Project: Assistant Coaching for High School XC
Thematic Area(s): Leadership
Expected Start Date: June 1, 2016
Expected End Date: August 16, 2016

1. Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals
do you have for this experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour,
campus organization, co-op, etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved
experience, how will you differentiate your experience from what is already required of other
students?

In this experience, I will be an assistant to the head coach of St. Xavier High Schools Cross
Country team. There are practices held at the school every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of
the summer. I will attend all of these practices, help organize groups for running, and track the
athletes progress and offer ideas for mileage. I will act as a mediator between the athletes and
the coach because I am younger and closer to the athletes ages. This experience is especially
meaningful to me because I was a part of the Cross Country team at St. Xavier for four years
during my high school career. It was a big part of my life and has made a huge impact on who I
am today. I have a personal attachment to the sport and the school and have strong relationships
with all of the coaches. I hope that through this experience I can share the same love I have with
the sport with the current athletes. I want to make their experiences as rewarding as it was for me
when I participated. I also want to advertise the sport and get more kids to go out for the team. I
will do this by participating in St. Xaviers open house and working with the Cross Country
booth to try and get kids to sign up. This experience begins on June 1st, with the first day of
official practice, but my work will start a couple weeks prior as I will need to write up schedules
to give to the kids outlining their mileage in the weeks to come. Three days a week, I will go to
St. Xavier High School at 8:30 am to help out with practice. This will last until mid-August
when school starts.

2. Experience Advisor
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this
person and how you plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors
advisors, undergraduate students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.

My experience advisor will be Andy Wietmarschen, the current head coach of the Cross Country
team at St. Xavier High School. His phone number is (513) 317-5669 and his email is
awietmarschen@stxavier.org. I have selected Andy Wietmarschen because he is very
experienced in this area as he was an assistant coach for 9 years before taking the head coach
job. He is very passionate about the sport and is very educated in the area I will be handling. I
plan to meet with him before and after every practice to discuss the days activities and go over
any responsibilities I have.

3. Connection to Learning Outcomes

List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to
engage in to help you make progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you
expect each activity to help your progress. Include an estimated time commitment for those
activities.

Motivate and collaborate effectively with others towards completion of shared projects or
goals.
I hope to motivate the current athletes by giving advice and sharing personal stories from
when I was involved with the sport and hopefully help others to realize their goals. I will
collaborate with the other coaches every day to decide which running group each athlete
should be a part of based on their mileage and ability. The time commitment for this is
ongoing. It is a case-by-case basis and will always be willing to share things I have
learned over the years.

Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.

Often times athletes will develop injuries that come from overuse or from not stretching
enough. I can help to establish a set stretching routine after practice to avoid any injuries.
If someone does get injured, we can put them on a recovery schedule and work with them
until they are able to run again. The time commitment for this is at least 10-12 hours, but
could possibly change based on unforeseen injuries.

Identify personal strengths and areas of growth and evaluate opportunities to maximize
skills and abilities.
Instead of identifying my own personal strengths and areas of growth, I can help to
identify individual strengths of each athlete on the team and decide what event group they
will be a part of. Instead of putting everyone into the same event group, they can be split
up based on ability. We will hold time trials to see where they excel. The time
commitment will splan at least three practice days which is about 9 hours.

4. Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes

List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning
outcomes. Explain how each resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you
execute your experience. Please include the title and author/creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of
the topic. Some examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
Coaching Cross Country Successfully Joe Henderson & Joe Newton
I stumbled upon this book last year while in my coachs office. It outlines guidelines for
training workouts and mileage progression. I would love to read this book and it will help serve
as a basis from which to grow in my coaching knowledge. This will help me better understand
reasoning behind certain coaching decisions and help me to develop a stronger vocabulary with
which to connect with the runners.
Did I Win? Joe Henderson
This book is especially important because it deals with loss in sports, especially running.
Reading this book will help me to truly connect with the athletes if things dont turn out the way
they want them to. Not everyone will win, and I need to be prepared to handle that situation
when it arises.

5. On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen
learning outcomes. Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate
specific reflection questions/topics you plan to use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos,
drawings, blogs, songs, and journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights
about the experience, connection to other areas of involvement, and your progress towards the
learning outcomes.

After each practice, I plan on keeping a journal of what we did that day, any challenges I
faced, and the things I handled well. If I do this every day, I will be able to look back and see
what situations I could have handled better and learn from it. It will make the total experience
more rewarding for both myself and the athletes. Along with outlining challenges I faced and
things I did well, I will answer the question How did I display leadership and influence
someone else today? This will help me stay on track and keep in mind the reason I am doing
this. It is to inspire others.
6. Sharing Your Learning
Describe how you plan to actively share what youve taken away from this experience with a
targeted audience. Explain why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal
learning portfolio or social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
There are two platforms on which I plan to share this experience. I have an account on two
separate running forums and I plan using both. For one, I plan on updating it every day with my
personal journal. This will open up a space where I can receive feedback or suggestions on how
to improve what I am doing. After the experience is concluded, I will post my experience on a
separate running blog which is focused on coaching. I hope to share my experience with this
community to share in the communal love of the sport and drive to make it better for the kids.
This is where I got the idea for this experience, and if anyone else with a similar idea is looking
there, they will be able to see how my experience went and hopefully be encouraged to try it.
1. Budget (if applicable)
Provide an itemized budget and indicate your source for cost information.
*If you are engaged in an unpaid internship or research, please indicate the number of weeks
and hours per week you plan to participate.

There is no required budget for this experience. I will be participating for 10-11 weeks. It will be
3 days a week for 9 total hours per week.