If you were to ask any Scituate High School student athlete if they have ever heard of Deb the trainer, I can guarantee their answer would be a resounding “Yes!” People throughout the whole town have at one point heard of Deborah White-Lyons. Whether it’s her constant effort to help all students with various injuries, her incredibly engaging stories, or even her numerous cat sweaters, everyone knows something about White-Lyons. But what still remains a mystery to most Scituate High School students is Deb’s past, her personal life, and the path that led her to become Scituate High’s phenomenal trainer.

White-Lyons originally discovered her dream of becoming an athletic trainer in college. She had always intended to be a nurse, as training athletes was not a very popular occupation at the time. White-Lyons always had a love for sports, and when her college professor suggested the career path, she knew immediately that it was for her. After graduating from Boston University in 1975, White-Lyons became the first female athletic trainer ever at BU. During this pre Title IX time (gender equality in sports), White-Lyons found it difficult to excel in the sports field as a woman. She says there were “no opportunities for women” to really excel in sports like there were for men. Despite this adversity, White-Lyons was able to persevere and actually get a job at Northeastern University as an athletic trainer, where she remained for sixteen years.

But Deb is much more than just your average athletic trainer. White-Lyons’s résumé is incomparable. Her favorite sport is by far hockey, and her experience with this sport has shown just how far her love has taken her. White-Lyons was one of the head trainers on the 1990 U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey team — a team that nearly took gold but lost a commanding lead in the gold medal game. She’s also a veteran member of the Boston Marathon staff for nearly 35 years. In addition, Deb has been a long-time active member of the Bay State Games.

What really defines White-Lyons is her love for animals. She is a certified member of animal control and has an incredible amount of love and compassion for all sorts of animals. As a matter of fact, White-Lyons is known for her special obsession with cats. White-Lyons can be seen on numerous occasions wearing a beautiful stitched cat sweater, or she will occasionally wear her gorgeous cat ears. When asked about this, she responded with a simple, “I like cats.” White-Lyons added that “maybe in my next life I will be a cat.” She even embraces the title of Crazy Cat Lady. She not only finds it fitting but even has several shirts that say it as well.

She is also widely known because of her dedicated work ethic and her commitment to helping high school students. White-Lyons says that “at this point in my life, so close to retirement, it’s important to give back to the town and help the younger generation.” There really is more to White-Lyons than most people think.