Throughout his university experience, Stuart Matilla was dedicated to helping students improve their physical, social and mental health. As a residence don at University College, he helped many students through stressful study periods, and as a personal trainer at U of T’s Goldring Centre and Athletic Centre he helped students focus on their personal goals and growth.
Over his four years at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), he took lessons learned from the lab and applied them to life – everything from active listening to proper biomechanics.
It’s a passion that he’ll continue to pursue as a massage therapist and personal trainer – providing each person with a holistic, individualized approach.
He describes his experience as a student and leader and what he plans to do in the future.
What did you learn at KPE?
I really learned to be critical of proper movement and body mechanics because they directly impact peoples’ long-term health. The proper mechanics transfer into everything – whether it’s picking up and moving a chair or lifting a backpack off the ground. It’s such a long-term thing and that’s what kinesiology is – the study of human movement, performance and function – we cover everything including, anatomy, nutrition, physiology, psychology and biomechanics to get the whole picture and to make sure that whoever we’re helping is going to get the most holistic care possible.
I wanted to come to KPE because I wanted to learn from the best. I knew that all of the information I’d learn would be based on the most current and relevant research.
Why did you become a residence don and what was your experience like?
I became a don during my second year at University College and then continued for the next three years. I wanted to be the first point of contact that students had when coming to university. It’s hard to be healthy as a student and there’s a lot of pressure. I focused more on students’ overall health and well-being rather than just their performance. Being a don involves a lot of listening and Professor Michael Atkinson, in physical cultural studies, taught us that one of the most important things for people’s health is how they construct their own narratives. By talking and telling our stories we can figure out our own path, and as a don I applied this knowledge.
I really enjoyed being in directly helping people – a student might contact me late at night about an issue that could derail a test, and it was really important to help them through that process. I saw the positive results of being an attentive listener and it was fulfilling to see that same student smiling a few days later.
How did your experience at KPE inform your job as a strength and conditioning supervisor?
While working as a strength and conditioning supervisor, I would remember things from lectures and have opportunities to apply this knowledge. For example, I saw somebody squatting one time and their heel raised up a bit and I knew that their whole alignment would be off and they might suffer a knee injury. I would often give people suggestions about how to save their knees and backs over time as they are commonly areas for acute and overuse injury.
How did you get students interested in physical activity?
What got me excited was when someone said, “I’ve never been to the gym.” I know how intimidating it can be, and it helps to have a friendly face to welcome students.
I was a personal trainer for two years at the Goldring Centre and the Athletic Centre, and I really tried to use an individualized approach to each student’s training. In general, personal training uses a standard approach, but at U of T it’s highly individualized. We make it enjoyable and it doesn’t have to be performance based. If you don’t like deadlifting or squats then you can do other dynamic movements. I would take some of my students from residence to the gym and teach them proper movement mechanics – that way they could do any exercise properly and it was fun.
What are you currently doing and what do you plan to do in the future?
I’m currently working with Dr. Joel Kerr at The Health Institute. He’s a KPE alumnus and he’s really helped me learn and grow. He is the founder and director of a multidisciplinary clinic that offers chiropractic therapy, physiotherapy, massage therapy and high performance training and he uses a holistic approach that looks at the person’s overall health. I’ve worked with him on numerous community events where we provide onsite athletic therapy and teach people proper training strategies to prevent injury.
I realized that as a kinesiology graduate, don and personal trainer that I want to spend time with people. I completed a workshop with Sutherland Chan School of Massage Therapy and I really like the practice because it improves circulation and helps people maintain their physical and psychological health. I’ll be taking an accelerated program through Sutherland Chan in September and I’d also like to pursue personal training. I want to continue to help people get healthier and see a direct impact!