One thing that sets the lion apart from every other animal in the jungle is its resilience. You can watch a lion get swarmed and battered by a pack of hyenas, yet it will stand its ground and protect its pride. Lions are also committed to excellence; they don’t prey on dead things, but eat only what they hunt (survival tip: if you ever meet a lion, playing dead might actually be your best bet).
One York Lion who embodies all these traits is Yigal Bruk. His journey is one of the most unique across the entire York Lions program, a journey shaped by resilience, discipline, and experiences that few student athletes can claim. Yigal grew up in Vancouver, and what many people don’t know about him is that he once had a stint with Schalke 04 in Germany—a team with one of the most respected and decorated youth systems in all of Europe. Their youth system has produced World Cup winners like Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer.
Yigal had to transition from professional sports to academics, recalling that it was not an easy journey. “Upon returning to Canada, I had to go back to high school and complete grade 11 as a 21-year-old in order to get into the neuroscience program at York, which was extremely humbling,” he says. “Nevertheless, I had to do it.”
Getting into York’s neuroscience program was not the end. Yigal still wanted to excel, and has managed to hold an impressive 4.0 gpa while being a top striker for the York Lions. When asked how he manages, he says: “I had a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of energy drinks, and definitely didn’t care about my health, which I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do. A lot of people don’t realize when you cut out some of that social media time, you’re left with a lot of the day to work on your studies, and I think that helped me quite a bit.”
No matter how talented an individual is as an athlete, there is one person who inspires them. Yigal has taken inspiration from Zlatan Ibrahimović who is one of the greatest strikers in history. “I’ve tried modelling after his game where he posts up as a hold up player and makes secondary runs; I’m not the best with my feet, so I like to make run ins behind and I think he does that very well.”
Yigal speaks about his journey so far with the York Lions—a journey filled with both growth and heartbreak. In the last two seasons, the Lions have taken their fair share of tough losses. Last year, they lost to Ontario Tech in the OUA final on home soil. At USPORTS Nationals, they were knocked out by the Montreal Carabins in the semi-final and had to settle for third place. This year the heartbreak continued as they lost another final to rivals University of Toronto in overtime. All those painful moments were finally overshadowed when the Lions defeated the Mont-Royal Cougars to claim their sixth USPORTS National Championship, their first in 10 years.
“When I first came to York, I was totally new to USPORTS soccer, and I didn’t know how much passion there is here for the sport,” Yigal continues. “Compared to Germany—a country where people live, breathe, and die for it—I noticed here is not too different. That journey toward the OUA final was very emotional. We made it, and unfortunately, we lost. And it was quite difficult to adapt to. Our team is very passionate; a lot of players are trying to go pro, and so it took a very big toll on us. But we had to suck it up because Nationals was right around the corner. So we went to Nationals with fresh heads, ready to take on this new championship, and things fell apart again against Montreal.”
The semi-final loss against Montreal left a lasting impact on the team. The Carabins celebrated outside the locker room, leaving the Lions in silence, overwhelmed with disappointment and embarrassment
Yigal reminisces about the fated game, describing it as “one of the worst experiences I’ve ever gone through as a player.” Though he couldn’t play in this year’s semifinal rematch against Montreal, he did his best to motivate the team. “I had everyone imagine what it felt like losing last year and what needed to be done this year to beat them. And the team exceeded expectations, and we won. And then we ended up winning the whole thing.”
Off the field, Yigal was awarded the OUA West Community Champion Award this year for building the Gal Senior Care Foundation, a charitable organization for seniors. “I was volunteering at a family medicine clinic, and I was hearing stories about seniors getting scammed,” he explains. “News articles were being published about how seniors were getting scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, so I decided to look into it. There weren’t any concrete resources seniors could rely on, and if there were, they were online, which is kind of where the issues stemmed from, because seniors aren’t necessarily the best at using online resources. They didn’t grow up with technology like us. And so, I founded this organization to start up as a non-profit, so we could go around Vancouver educating seniors in person. We started off as a non-profit in Vancouver and were later awarded charitable status by the CRA. And then when I moved to Toronto, I brought our initiative here, and we quickly expanded.”
When asked about next steps for the foundation, Yigal speaks of its current expansion in Toronto. “If students would like to contribute, they can volunteer with us, which would be extremely beneficial for us and for them to gain valuable community experience.”
Of course, we can’t talk about York Soccer without mentioning the maestro Carmine Issaco. Yigal says the biggest lesson he has ever learnt from “Coach Carm” is that “anything is possible no matter what comes your way, and you should strive to achieve based on your purpose. So you shouldn’t limit yourself.”
Which York Lion do you want featured next on Beneath the Mane? Email sports@excal.on.ca, or send a message to @talesfromexcalibur on Instagram.
