Del Ciucci is in his first year as St. Olaf's director of athletic performance in 2021-22 after being named to the position on June 3, 2021. He oversees the strength and conditioning programming for all 26 varsity athletics teams.
Ciucci came to St. Olaf after spending the last two years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Illinois State University where he assisted with the football program and directed year-round training programs for the Redbirds' baseball, cross country, and pole vault/triple jump groups on the track and field team.
In addition to directing sport-specific programming at Illinois State, Ciucci coordinated with the athletic training staff to develop and execute return-to-play protocols, designed and implemented standardized staff movement progressions and program performance standards, and helped oversee the department's graduate assistants and interns.
Prior to his time at Illinois State, Ciucci was an assistant athletic performance coach at the University of Missouri from February 2018 until August 2019, working primarily with the football program. At Missouri, he played an integral part in training prospective and current NFL athletes and also worked with 11 Olympic sports.
Ciucci was an assistant football coach at Luther College, his alma mater, from 2016-18. While there, Ciucci also assisted with strength and conditioning, working exclusively with the Norse football program. Before returning to Luther, Ciucci served as an intern with the University of Iowa's football strength and conditioning program and as a graduate assistant football coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach at Bemidji State University.
A 2014 Luther graduate, Ciucci played four years of football for the Norse and was a three-time letterwinner while earning a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies. He went on to receive a master of business administration with an emphasis in management from Bemidji State in 2016.
The native of Palmer, Alaska is a Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) through the CSCCa, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, and a USAW – Level 1 Sports performance coach. His other certifications include Functional Movement Screen Level 1 (FMS), Certified FRC Mobility Specialist (FRCms), and Certified Functional Range Assessment Specialist (FRA). Ciucci is also First Aid, CPR, and AED certified through the American Red Cross.
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