ISI Florence offers a number of community engagement options to its students, one of which is the chance to coach children’s baseball teams. This new volunteering opportunity came about in Fall 2013 when John Gallucci (UConn) sought to get involved through the sport he loves.  This spring Andrew Richie (Penn State) picked up where John left off.

Commenting on his experience so far, Andrew says:

“Baseball went really well on Tuesday and I am enjoying it. The weather was nice and the field was not muddy. We took the public bus there without any problems. The local coach was excited to see us when we arrived and put us right to work in the batting cage. We worked on hitting with the kids for an hour and a half. After it was over, the coach thanked us for coming. The team has a game on Sunday so they are looking forward to that. I really like getting to know the kids and having them teach me Italian. It is rewarding to see the kids, who actually want to be there and are not just doing it for their parents, listen to us and actually improve. I am excited for next week!”

Andrew Richie, Pennsylvania State University