Andrew Libs ’08 is a physical therapist for the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, based in Park City, Utah, where he currently works to support professional athletes in preparation for the 2026 winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Before moving to the mountains, Andrew’s roots can be traced back to Father Gabriel Richard High School, where, on fall afternoons, you could find him running down country roads throughout Ann Arbor as a member of the Irish cross-country team.
“My fondest memories at FGR were from my time on the cross-country and track and field teams, led by Head Coach Don Canham ’66 and Assistant Coach John Urbanic ’97. The culture DC and John helped foster was built upon belief, encouragement, teamwork, toughness, and discipline. My time on the team helped me understand the importance of embracing discomfort, the value of flexibility in pursuit of consistency, and that real toughness is in navigating discomfort to make better decisions. My teammates and I were very fortunate to be surrounded by coaches who inspired a quiet confidence and always believed in our potential with unwavering support.”
Coach Donald N. “DC” Canham, a 1966 graduate from St. Thomas High School, passed away in 2019, leaving a legacy of service and dedication, having coached track and cross country for 49 years at St. Thomas/Father Gabriel Richard High School. DC and John Urbanic worked closely together for 12 years. “I didn’t realize it at the time”, says Libs, “but DC and John were focused on cultivating a teaching and learning environment that developed a healthy and competitive mindset. Looking back, it was always more about the journey than the destination. Our focus wasn’t on being THE best, it was on being the best version of ourselves. These are lessons that I continued to use in professional sport today.”
“I feel very fortunate for the relationships I built at FGR, both in the classroom and in sport. As the years go by you realize how meaningful those relationships were.” Libs reflected on the positive influences he encountered in the classroom at FGR, specifically highlighting his mathematics classes with Dave Mangan. “Mr. Mangan helped us learn how to think, not just what to think – his approach to solving problems was unique. Mr. Mangan was invested in understanding how someone’s thought process allowed them to arrive at a particular conclusion rather than being myopically focused on the end result. I always appreciated how he rewarded students for showing their work rather than operating in absolutes.”
After graduating from FGR, Libs earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, where he continued his running career. Following graduation from Aquinas, he returned to FGR as an assistant coach for both cross-country and track and field teams for three years before earning his Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Central Michigan University. Shortly after graduate school he moved to California where he completed an Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency at Stanford University.
After two years of working at Stanford, Libs took a job as an orthopaedic and sports physical therapist at a small private practice called Motion UT, located in Park City, Utah. There he was responsible for designing and implementing performance plans for athletes at every level, from local clubs to Olympians. This role afforded him the opportunity to work alongside the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association where he began providing medical services at training camps as well as Europa and World Cup races. Libs currently works for the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team full-time, where he sees athletes across all disciplines and is primarily responsible for the freeski team (halfpipe and slopestyle/big air).
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the largest national governing body (NGB) in the country and home to 10 different Olympic and Paralympic disciplines including: Alpine, Nordic, Freestyle moguls, Freestyle aerials, Freeski, Snowboard, Ski jumping, Nordic combined, Para alpine and Para snowboard. There are more than 240 athletes who train and compete across the world on five of the seven continents. “Providing medical coverage for a ski or snowboard event is uniquely different from working on a field or court”, says Libs. “The environmental constraints of providing medical care on the side of a mountain often provide a significant challenge requiring the provider to be competent in both the delivery of care and navigating unpredictable weather and terrain to reach a down athlete.”
Remarkably, before moving to Park City and working with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team Libs had no experience on skis. But he didn’t let that obstacle stop him, “in sport we often say availability is the best ability, in my line of work flexibility may be most important. I learned to be adaptable throughout my sporting experiences, and while I’m still developing and refining my skiing skills, I can get to where I need to go safely.”
When asked why he chose this line of work, Libs pointed to one of his other mentors, “my athletic trainer at Aquinas College, Kevin Parker, had a profound impact on my development as a person and an athlete. He helped me realize sport was a powerful vehicle to develop life skills, not just athleticism.”
When asked what career advice he would give to a current FGR student, Libs pointed to lessons he first learned during his running days on the dirt roads surrounding school. “Be curious. Find something that you enjoy doing with people who you enjoy doing it with. It’s easy to get caught up in results, ranking, and rewards, but what supports enduring performance is consistency and finding the joy and purpose in your work.”