There is a moment that often happens on the sidelines, when the game is loud, the whistles are blowing, and the crowd is making noise. Then, Certified Athletic Therapist Paz Mukikala, observes quietly, watching and waiting for her next opportunity to perform with passion.
Finding The Path
Paz did not take a direct route into athletic therapy; she was originally interested in nursing, medicine or paramedicine and was studying Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. When she started her in-field learning placement, her plans changed. As part of their varsity placements, the kinesiology students were asked to take part in working alongside the athletic therapy students from York University and Sheridan College, who were also completing their placement.
That exposure was pivotal as Paz experienced a role that lived on the sidelines, within the game, and at the heart of keeping sport going. Assisting with practices and providing care wherever she could, quickly, it became clear to her that athletic therapy aligned more closely with her interests and skill set.
Pursuing certification led Paz to leave the Greater Toronto Area and move to the University of Winnipeg to study in the athletic therapy program. Working closely with teams, classmates and with a hands-on curriculum, she truly found her stride.
“Our placements included both low-contact sports like volleyball, track and basketball, and high-contact sports like rugby, hockey and football,” she explained. For her final placement, Paz worked with a local rugby team back in Brampton, Ontario. Following the season, she was offered the opportunity to return for the next season; seven years later, she still provides athletic therapy care to them. “I’ve worked every season with them, I love them to bits,” she shared.
Trust Built Over Time
That seven-year relationship is not an outlier in Paz’s experience, but a pattern. Whether it's working with rugby athletes, volleyball, arena football, soccer or youth touch and tackle football, Paz’s career has been shaped by continuity. These relationships are built through consistency in showing up, staying present and becoming an essential part of the environment and wellness outcomes.
“Networking is what gets you these opportunities,” Paz says. She has a network that is built on trust, where teams recommend her and coaches request her support season after season.
A classmate from Winnipeg once mentioned her name when Football Ontario was looking for support. That connection grew into a major career milestone opportunity where Paz made a lasting impression and impact.
Those same relationship-driven principles were carried into the clinic setting through mentorship. Working as an exercise therapist, Paz was immersed in the clinical environment, where she began refining her practical skills and deepening her understanding of patient-centred care.
Though hired in an assistant position, Paz’s athletic therapy background and extensive on-field experience stood out, and the head clinic physiotherapist saw her for what she was. “She recognized me as a healthcare professional,” she shared.
With that recognition came confidence, and Paz leaned into it, becoming more comfortable working with patients, leading exercises, supporting rehabilitation plans and helping people reconnect with movement.
Mentorship has continued to play a critical role in Paz’s development. In a subsequent in-clinic experience, she worked closely with a physiotherapist and again, her skill set and potential were recognized in practice. She was trusted with greater responsibility, taking on most, if not all, of the exercise-based care in the clinic, solidifying her confidence and inspiring her professional independence.
Care That Meets People Where They Are
Paz is fluid in her approach, balancing weekly clinic work with weekends and long-stretches as an on-field Certified Athletic Therapist.
Meeting athletes and patients where they are has always remained a focus for her, and this approach reached a new level when Paz became an in-house independent Certified Athletic Therapist at Unchained Athletics.
In a gym and wellness center that prioritizes community, inclusivity and empowerment, Paz is leading the development of a clinic as the extension of the athletic space. Now her athletes from all over the sporting world have easier access to her care. With rugby players from summer seasons to arena football athletes from winter leagues, her caseload is growing organically, rooted in the relationships that she has nurtured for years.
Equity In Access
What is striking about Paz’s work is how naturally accessible it is, a quality shaped by where and how she practices.
By embedding her care in community sport spaces, like the Brampton rugby fields, local football tournaments and gyms doubling as community places, athletic therapy becomes part of athletes’ everyday environments, not as a system that is intimidating to approach.
In these settings, care is visible and familiar; the families of the adults and children she works with know who she is, parents can approach her with questions, and athletes feel comfortable asking for help.
“When people understand why we’re there,” Paz said, “they are always thankful.” This understanding, for Paz, comes from presence, showing up consistently in the same spaces, season after season, until care feels accessible because it's there and openly available.
“The difference is when you get to know people and get to understand their life outside of their injury – you see them differently, the conversations happen differently, and the treatments happen differently.”
When asked what athletic therapy means to her, Paz answered, “It's wellness and care, it's bringing people back to what they want to do. It's the love. It's my love of helping people, too.”
Reminding people that injury isn't the end and that there is a path forward, Paz instills progress in small, intentional steps. “You get to help them from injury to actually going back to doing something they love and doing it well, and there's just something about that that's unbeatable.”
Athletic therapy, in Paz’s hands, becomes a bridge between sport and health, clinic and community, and people and possibility. Sometimes, equity looks like someone standing quietly on the sidelines, showing up, week after week: becoming essential simply by being there and providing care that keeps movement alive. And for Paz, that's just another day on the job.
Learn more about athletic therapy on our website, or find a Certified Athletic Therapist near you to book an appointment and discover the difference it can make.
Finding The Path
Paz did not take a direct route into athletic therapy; she was originally interested in nursing, medicine or paramedicine and was studying Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. When she started her in-field learning placement, her plans changed. As part of their varsity placements, the kinesiology students were asked to take part in working alongside the athletic therapy students from York University and Sheridan College, who were also completing their placement.
That exposure was pivotal as Paz experienced a role that lived on the sidelines, within the game, and at the heart of keeping sport going. Assisting with practices and providing care wherever she could, quickly, it became clear to her that athletic therapy aligned more closely with her interests and skill set.
Pursuing certification led Paz to leave the Greater Toronto Area and move to the University of Winnipeg to study in the athletic therapy program. Working closely with teams, classmates and with a hands-on curriculum, she truly found her stride.
“Our placements included both low-contact sports like volleyball, track and basketball, and high-contact sports like rugby, hockey and football,” she explained. For her final placement, Paz worked with a local rugby team back in Brampton, Ontario. Following the season, she was offered the opportunity to return for the next season; seven years later, she still provides athletic therapy care to them. “I’ve worked every season with them, I love them to bits,” she shared.
Trust Built Over Time
That seven-year relationship is not an outlier in Paz’s experience, but a pattern. Whether it's working with rugby athletes, volleyball, arena football, soccer or youth touch and tackle football, Paz’s career has been shaped by continuity. These relationships are built through consistency in showing up, staying present and becoming an essential part of the environment and wellness outcomes.
“Networking is what gets you these opportunities,” Paz says. She has a network that is built on trust, where teams recommend her and coaches request her support season after season.
A classmate from Winnipeg once mentioned her name when Football Ontario was looking for support. That connection grew into a major career milestone opportunity where Paz made a lasting impression and impact.
Those same relationship-driven principles were carried into the clinic setting through mentorship. Working as an exercise therapist, Paz was immersed in the clinical environment, where she began refining her practical skills and deepening her understanding of patient-centred care.
Though hired in an assistant position, Paz’s athletic therapy background and extensive on-field experience stood out, and the head clinic physiotherapist saw her for what she was. “She recognized me as a healthcare professional,” she shared.
With that recognition came confidence, and Paz leaned into it, becoming more comfortable working with patients, leading exercises, supporting rehabilitation plans and helping people reconnect with movement.
Mentorship has continued to play a critical role in Paz’s development. In a subsequent in-clinic experience, she worked closely with a physiotherapist and again, her skill set and potential were recognized in practice. She was trusted with greater responsibility, taking on most, if not all, of the exercise-based care in the clinic, solidifying her confidence and inspiring her professional independence.
Care That Meets People Where They Are
Paz is fluid in her approach, balancing weekly clinic work with weekends and long-stretches as an on-field Certified Athletic Therapist.
Meeting athletes and patients where they are has always remained a focus for her, and this approach reached a new level when Paz became an in-house independent Certified Athletic Therapist at Unchained Athletics.
In a gym and wellness center that prioritizes community, inclusivity and empowerment, Paz is leading the development of a clinic as the extension of the athletic space. Now her athletes from all over the sporting world have easier access to her care. With rugby players from summer seasons to arena football athletes from winter leagues, her caseload is growing organically, rooted in the relationships that she has nurtured for years.
Equity In Access
What is striking about Paz’s work is how naturally accessible it is, a quality shaped by where and how she practices.
By embedding her care in community sport spaces, like the Brampton rugby fields, local football tournaments and gyms doubling as community places, athletic therapy becomes part of athletes’ everyday environments, not as a system that is intimidating to approach.
In these settings, care is visible and familiar; the families of the adults and children she works with know who she is, parents can approach her with questions, and athletes feel comfortable asking for help.
“When people understand why we’re there,” Paz said, “they are always thankful.” This understanding, for Paz, comes from presence, showing up consistently in the same spaces, season after season, until care feels accessible because it's there and openly available.
“The difference is when you get to know people and get to understand their life outside of their injury – you see them differently, the conversations happen differently, and the treatments happen differently.”
When asked what athletic therapy means to her, Paz answered, “It's wellness and care, it's bringing people back to what they want to do. It's the love. It's my love of helping people, too.”
Reminding people that injury isn't the end and that there is a path forward, Paz instills progress in small, intentional steps. “You get to help them from injury to actually going back to doing something they love and doing it well, and there's just something about that that's unbeatable.”
Athletic therapy, in Paz’s hands, becomes a bridge between sport and health, clinic and community, and people and possibility. Sometimes, equity looks like someone standing quietly on the sidelines, showing up, week after week: becoming essential simply by being there and providing care that keeps movement alive. And for Paz, that's just another day on the job.
Learn more about athletic therapy on our website, or find a Certified Athletic Therapist near you to book an appointment and discover the difference it can make.
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