Gary Halvorson—aka Coach Hal—worked in District 833 from 1976 to 2010. He led the Royals to their sole State Championship in 1998. Photos: Gary Halvorson
The Halvorson family leaves its mark on the field and in the classroom.
We all want to leave our mark, be remembered and make an impact. Woodbury resident Gary Halvorson—known as Coach Hal to many—is admired on and off the football field. Halvorson played football in high school and landed at Gustavus Adolphus College, playing NCAA Division III football. He then returned to coach football and teach health, first in Wayzata, then to Park High School from 1976–1984. In 1987, he transitioned to Woodbury High School (WHS), where he was a physical education teacher, taught weightlifting and self-improvement, and served as head football coach.
Halvorson’s perspective on leading shifted dramatically after hearing a fellow coach speak on the subject of Coaching to Change Lives. Developed by Dennis Parker and D.W. Rutledge, the manual outlines various character lessons, including how to treat other people, build self-esteem and radiate positivity. Energized by what he had learned, Halvorson studied this national curriculum with hopes of implementing it at WHS. Soon after, the first 15 minutes of every practice were spent in the classroom before taking the field. “We changed the whole outlook of football,” Halvorson says. “We saw a magnificent change in the kids and in the community.” With this change in effect, football enrollment nearly tripled in the following years.
Current WHS head football coach Andy Hill remembers Halvorson fondly. “My whole life was impacted by Coach Hal,” Hill says. “The positive coaching helped me fall in love with the sport again.” After two decades of head coach experience, Hill brings to the field what he garnered from Halvorson. “You have to put in the work and you may fail,” Hill says. “The value is not in a guaranteed outcome but who you become in pursuit of that goal.”
Hill continues to leverage his experience and knowledge of Coaching to Change Lives material, pushing the players to make positive daily decisions and hold each other accountable to be good citizens. “We’ll have 150 boys grades nine through 12 in football, close to 15 percent of the male population at WHS,” Hill says. “If you take them up, even one level, on how they treat others, it permeates the entire community.”
Halvorson’s late wife, Barbara, was no stranger to the importance of community. Deeply entwined in the University of Minnesota (UMN) community for 42 years before her retirement in 2014, Barbara was a dedicated champion for continuing education. The College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS) provides adult learners and degree-seeking, part-time learners with access to UMN resources. “Barb had that passion for people,” Halvorson says. “She watched how football became so important in my life. It’s about helping people become better versions of themselves. She had that same passion.”
Gary and Barbara Halvorson
Before Barbara passed in February, a dear friend of the Halvorsons started the Friends of Barbara Halvorson Scholarship. Gifts to the endowment will support tuition, fees and books for those in CCAPS. Unlike traditional donations, gifts to the endowment are unique in that they are invested. Each year, only a portion of the monetary earnings are spent while the remainder is added to the principal for growth.
Halvorson continues to advocate for continuing education in honor of Barbara. “Coach Hal poured himself into the community for decades,” Hill says. “He was a rock and an inspiration, but without a supportive spouse, that couldn’t happen. Most people never met Barb, but he couldn’t have had the same impact without her support. Now, he can honor her area of passion because she honored his.”
Learn about the Friends of Barbara Halvorson Scholarship at makingagift.umn.edu.
