Vermont native Gestal hired as Saint Michael's women's soccer assistant coach

COLCHESTER, Vt. - Shay Gestal has been hired as an assistant coach with the Saint Michael's College women's soccer program, joining the staff beginning with the 2012 season. An experienced camp coach, the Craftsbury, Vt., native comes to Saint Michael's after assisting a pair of squads at in-state counterpart Lyndon State College during the 2011-12 school year.

During her lone season with the Division III Lyndon State women's soccer program, Gestal helped the Hornets post a 9-8-1 mark last fall while qualifying for the quarterfinal round of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament. She also assisted a Lyndon State women's basketball team that competed in a NAC Tournament quarterfinal.

A 2011 graduate of Gordon (Mass.) College, Gestal worked at her alma mater's summer youth soccer camp in 2010 and 2011. This summer marked her sixth straight coaching at the Big Hosmer Soccer Camp in Craftsbury, where she has worked with youths ages 5 to 18. Gestal previously coached at the Lyndonville Soccer Camp between the summers of 2009 and 2011, and was also on staff at the Gordon Basketball Camp in 2011. Beyond the coaching realm, she is also a certified United States Soccer Federation referee.

During her playing career, Gestal helped the Fighting Scots go 42-29-7 overall, including 32-15-5 in league play, while qualifying for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament all four years, advancing to the semifinals three times. Also a four-year outdoor track & field athlete, Gestal competed for three seasons on the indoor track & field team before playing basketball as a senior. She graduated with a degree in kinesiology, with a pre-physical therapy concentration.