By Mariana Echeverri Alvarez, Communications Coordinator
Photo credit: Pure Lifestyle Ltd.
Russ Horbal: A Lifelong Commitment to Sports Medicine and Athlete Success
With highlights that include supporting roles with the Winnipeg Jets, Blue Bombers, Goldeyes, and numerous Canadian Olympic contingents, Russ Horbal’s resume reads like a dream for sports medicine professionals.
But if you ask Horbal himself, it’s not these “dream come true” accolades that he’s most proud of. It’s the more than four decades (and counting) he’s spent helping others achieve dreams of their own.
“My feelings of success have always been tied to helping others succeed,” says the Winnipeg-born-and-raised physiotherapist and athletic therapist.
“I learned firsthand that no dream is really attainable without others supporting you while you chase it.”
Finding His Path: From School Teams to the Blue Bombers
In his early years, Horbal was a self-proclaimed sports nut who tried out for every school team but quickly realized athletic excellence likely wasn’t in the cards.
Luckily for him, a series of teachers, coaches, and mentors stepped in, saw past his “not-tall, less-than-svelte” exterior, and showed him the world of sports could involve more than just the people playing the game.
“I could have—and maybe should have—been discouraged,” Horbal says.
“I was so fortunate to have people help me realize I could find success in things that, at the time, I didn’t even know existed.”
In the early 1970s at Sisler High School, a handful of Horbal’s teachers and coaches recognized his passion for both sport and helping others. They had him join teams in supportive roles and encouraged him to look outside school for education and enrichment opportunities.
With their guidance, Horbal showed up at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Gimli-based training camp as an ostentatious ninth grader on a mission.
“I was young, naive, and thought my limited experience gave me the qualifications to work with the big guns,” Horbal laughs.
Despite his lack of credentials, Horbal left the field that night as the team’s newest ballboy.
“Yet again, someone recognized my passion and potential, took a chance, and opened my eyes to unknown possibilities,” says Horbal, who spent months closely observing the professional sports world and peering wide-eyed into the team’s training room.
“I saw people helping people and knew what I wanted my future to be,” he says.
That future eventually included stints with the aforementioned professional and national teams, co-founding a well-known private practice, and,perhaps most notably for Horbal, a full-circle journey through the University of Manitoba.
A Lasting Legacy in Sports Medicine and Education
While attaining his Phys-Ed degree (he calls teaching his “starter career”), Horbal worked with the 1976 national champion Bison men’s basketball team. (For the record, Horbal says, those teammates remain among his closest friends and are now mentors of their own kind.)
After a few years of teaching, he returned to the U of M to obtain his physiotherapy degree. Today, Horbal serves as an instructor in the same Rady College of Rehab Sciences where he once studied.
“Helping people—whether they are professional athletes, amateur athletes, weekend warriors, or the next generation of therapists—is my dream,” says Horbal. “To know I’ve played a part in helping others reach their goals, whatever they may be,is the why.”
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Celebrate Russ Horbal and all of our honourees at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, taking place on Thursday, November 7 at the Victoria Inn. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the Ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m.
Get your tickets now and be part of this memorable evening.
