After graduating college most students are stressed about two things: money and finding a job. But two recent Castleton graduates already received an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Caylee Fleury, a 2013 graduate, and Zak Mayo, a 2012 graduate, have become coaches for the College of St. Josephs first softball team in more nine years. Mayo is the head coach who is also working toward his masters at St. Josephs.
After graduating from Castleton with a sports administration degree, Mayo worked for Castleton’s Admissions Department, then Burlington College in Northern Vermont, and then at St. Josephs this fall.
“I feel absolutely blessed. Caylee is awesome, she brings depth and knowledge of the game to help start this team from scratch. It’s something I always dreamed of doing,” Mayo said.
Fleury, who graduated with a degree in social work, currently works for the Rutland Mental Health Community Access Program that provides services for adults and children with disabilities. Fleury recently landed a full-time position there as a service coordinator.
“I am very lucky that I got this opportunity, for both a full-time job with my degree, and as the full-time assistant coach at St. Josephs. I am really excited, I got a big start,” she said.
The team in the spring of 2015 will play in the USCAA division, a subdivision of the NAIA. The team will be playing mostly division I, and II schools, but Fleury, a Castleton softball alumnus, said she hopes they can play the Spartans during their regular season.
“Him and I are so thrilled, we are in the recruiting process now. We’ve been going to a lot of showcases to scout upcoming freshman for the fall of 2014,” said Fleury. Both coaches said they are looking for transfers as well.
Although transferring is a painful process, the college of St. Josephs has a scholarship called the Providers Scholarship, where students have to maintain a 2.0 GPA and perform 15 hours of community service during both fall and spring semesters.  

“With the Providers Scholarship it truly is an opportunity for students to attend an affordable college,” Mayo said. “The opportunities here are awesome, the small campus, and small classes are perfect for the one on one attention that is good for students.”
Macyn Clifford, one of Mayo’s old teammates, called Mayo a really hard worker.
“This is a good opportunity for him to share his past knowledge of the game,” he said.
The excitement is evident when Mayo talks about his new role.
“When involved in coaching, you can really enjoy teaching a certain philosophy about the game. We may be starting from scratch, but I think we have the opportunity to successfully have a well-rounded team of great athletes for our first season next spring,” he said.