York University Athletics

Kim Gibbs is one of the most decorated women’s basketball players in York history. In her final season, the forward led the Lions to the 2007 OUA championship, just the second title in program history, and along the way she was also named York’s female athlete of the year, the OUA East defensive player of the year and an OUA first-team all-star. Throughout her career she was recognized by the conference in each of her four seasons (2003-07), earning a spot on the all-rookie team in her first year, followed by back-to-back second-team selections. She also helped York win an OUA silver medal in 2006, the first podium finish in 19 seasons, and she participated in the national tournament twice. Gibbs went on to play professionally in Europe after her varsity career was complete.



Kim Gibbs was the leader during one of the most successful eras of women’s basketball at York, and today she is using those same leadership skills to effectively run her own company.
 
She was a talented high school player when then head coach Bill Pangos first learned of her, and after a long recruiting journey she picked York.
 
“I chose York because when I walked on campus it felt like home. Out of all the visits I had, the York players were the ones I connected with the most. York also has a great kinesiology program and I knew I wanted my career to be in health in some way.”
 
Gibbs was a highly touted recruit, and Pangos knew he’d landed a good one when she decided to come to York. After a tremendous four-year playing career, his instincts were proven correct.
 
She joined the Lions along with four other recruits and together, they formed a core group that led the team to some of its most successful years in program history. After not making the playoffs in her rookie campaign, the team reached the quarter-finals in her second year even with many players suffering injuries throughout the season, including Gibbs. The next year the Lions won an OUA silver medal and qualified for the national championships for the first time in nine years, and the following year her career culminated with an OUA championship, York’s first since 1982, and another trip to nationals.
 
Along the way, Gibbs earned OUA all-star honours three times, was the OUA East defensive player of the year in her final campaign and was named York’s female athlete of the year that same season, all while serving as a team captain.
 
“That first year was not a great experience in terms of success, but the core group that I started with, we were all on the same page: we wanted to succeed and we bought into the vision of our coach. The major injuries we had in my second year forced the bench to play a ton of minutes, but I think that played a big role in how much success we had after that because everyone had experience and was ready to play.
 
“I attribute a lot of our success to the camaraderie we had off the court. We were a very unselfish team and you could see that in our play.”
 
Gibbs’ broad focus on a career in health started to narrow while with the Lions thanks to the work of strength and conditioning coach Steve Lidstone. In the years she was a varsity student-athlete, a dedicated strength and conditioning coach was a rarity and York was one of the few schools to employ a full-time coach. She credits his work with the team for helping her and her teammates reach their goals on the court.
 
“He was one of the X factors in making us better athletes and it made a huge difference in our performance. We were known for being strong and fit. After working with him I knew I wanted to make the same difference for future athletes. He was definitely a mentor for me.”
 
After graduation, Gibbs spent one season playing professionally in Norway, winning a league championship in the process, and then decided to hang up her basketball shoes in favour of starting her career. She began working as a personal trainer in local community centres and eventually continued her education through the Stretch to Win Institute.
 
Soon after, she launched her own company called Primal Health, which she continues to operate today out of multiple locations in Whitby and Pickering. The mandate is to help people with their personal health by increasing their mobility through fascial stretch therapy, and she has embraced the role of business owner with the same attitude that enabled her to become one of the best women’s basketball players in York history.