Dr. Deb Rinder - Outstanding Athletic Achievement

Student-Athlete. Coach. Educator. Dr. Deb Rinder did not set out to check off all of those boxes growing up in Glendale, but her journey has taken her from the hallways and playground of Glenoaks School to the offices of the Glendale Unified School District as the Executive Director of Special Education.

But don’t call her a pioneer for girls and women’s sports, even though she was the first girl in Glendale to play Little League baseball in 1975.She reserves that mantle for others who fought for equality for young ladies and women to compete on an even playing field with boys and men to have the same kinds of opportunities that they had.

Talking to her about her path, she considers herself fortunate to have had the opportunities she has had to make an impact in the city where she was born and raised and to be considered a role model even though she doesn’t always see it that way. “Who would have thought that a young girl growing up and loving sports in Glendale would have playing and coaching and administrative opportunities like what I have had. I feel so fortunate,’’ said Rinder. “But what I want to emphasize is that many people had a hand in helping me to get to where I am now, like a team of supporters who were not only looking out for Deb Rinder, but offering these kinds of opportunities to everyone.’’

In a life that has contained many firsts, her induction into the Glendale Community College Athletic Hall of Fame as an outstanding athlete in women’s basketball checks off another box as she is the first individual honored in that sport.

She took a curious route to GCC after earning all-league and all-CIF honors for Glendale High from 1979-1982 in basketball and softball and leading the Nitros to league team titles as a senior in 1982. She had opportunities to play at several four-year schools out of high school but decided to stay close to home to play women’s basketball for the Lady Vaqs in 1982-83 and transferred to Cuesta to play softball her sophomore season after earning All-WSC honors for the Vaqs.

While her athletic career was ending after two years playing hoops at San Diego State, her coaching and administrative careers were beckoning as she started coaching girls basketball at Glendale High when she was at GCC. She also coached basketball at Crescenta Valley and was the head coach at Hoover from 1988-1996.

In what seems to have been a precursor to her current administrative role with the GUSD, Rinder started the Challenger Baseball Program for special needs students in 1990.It was a way to give everyone an opportunity to participate in sports no matter what their limitations are and has been a champion for these kinds of programs ever since.