Kelly Korras - Outstanding Athletic Achievement

Any student athletes at U.C. Riverside who have the opportunity to meet with Kelly Korras, the Director of Compliance, have found an ally. The coaches at Riverside will also be working with someone who has been in the trenches as a coach, someone who wants what is best for their athletes on and off the field.

At just 26-years old, Karros has been reflecting lately on the path that has taken her from standout pitcher at Chaminade High School in North Hills to not making the softball team at Cal State Northridge in 2006. Her life might be different now if she had stepped out of the pitcher’s circle for good until she made a life changing decision.

“Attending Glendale College at the suggestion of then Head Coach Dave “Hawk” Wilder really put me on the pathway to success as an athlete and as a person,’’Korras said. “His suggestion not to quit playing softball put me on the road to playing well enough to earn an opportunity to play college softball at Chaminade University in Hawaii and then for the South African National Team. It was lifechanging for me and I try to share that with the student-athletes I work with.’’

It seemed that Korras was destined to enter the pitching circle as a young girl growing up in South Africa as it was a position that her grandfather taught and that the family was very familiar with. Softball played a big part in her assimilation to life in the United States and while she worked tirelessly to be the best player she could be, she had her sights seton a different kind of career in athletic administration.

While at Glendale, she took a job as an assistant softball coach at Chaminade Middle School and later became the head softball coach at Westridge High School in Pasadena. Her varied background also includes working as a sports writer and editor at Chaminade University and also as an athletics office intern at Chaminade and Occidental College. She was also the compliance coordinator and an administrative assistant at Cal State Northridge before recently taking over as the Director of Compliance at U.C. Riverside.

But for those who knew and remember Korras from her days as a pitcher for the Vaqueros, her athletic career may have taken a different path but one that embodies what has made her a special individual on and off the field.

“Kelly Korras’ second and final season at Glendale College was my first year on the coaching staff at Glendale College and it became evident to me very early how competitive she was. She also showed excellent leadership and led us to a winning season,’’ said GCC Head Softball coach Sal Pizzo. “She was named a first-team all-conference pitcher for us and was our team’s player of the year. She had a softball I.Q. and a desire to win like few others. It was a privilege to coach her and she is most deserving to be the first softball player inducted into the Glendale College Athletic Hall of Fame.”