About Sense Sports

Our aim is to utilise team sports, like rugby, rugby league, and AFL, to help kids experience proprioceptive, vestibular, and tactile input in a safe and appropriate format, with an Occupational Therapist present to observe and manage limits.

Sense Sports provides families with a “safe-space” to trial a team sport and work on the skills needed to transition into a mainstream sporting team. Additionally, it offers an opportunity for children who may not otherwise engage in sport to experience being part of the sporting community and a sports team.

We want to share our story with you

Meet Carlien & Jesse Parahi, the founders of Sense Rugby, Sense Therapies & recently Sense AFL.

Carlien is a Paediatric Occupational Therapist & Jesse is a retired Australian Olympian & Rugby Union player. Carlien & Jesse live on the NSW South Coast and have two beautiful girls, Mieke and Lilli.

It is still pretty hotly debated who came up with the idea for Sense Rugby. Carlien had a few kids in her sessions that needed a lot of physical input. It can be really difficult to get that input and heavy muscle work in an appropriate way during a therapy session, so she brought her husband Jesse into one of the sessions where they did some wrestling and tackling with the kids and found that the kids were getting so much of the awesome sensory input they craved and had the best time! They had no idea it was therapy!

Founded in 2015, Sense was created to provide a Rugby-based Occupational Therapy program for children and teens who need support to be a part of a team.

Sense now operates internationally with partners and sponsors across Australia and New Zealand. Sense often delivers sessions in partnership with NZ Rugby, the Sydney Swans and Rugby Victoria.

Children with disabilities and neurodivergence can find it really difficult to be a part of a team and may get excluded. Our mission is to make all children feel safe and supported to play.

Seeing parents getting emotional on the sideline because their child is participating in a sports team is why we do what we do.

Jesse Parahi

Owner & Co-Founder of Sense Therapies & Sense Sports

Retired Australian Olympian & Rugby Union player and now Co-Founder of Sense Team Sports & Sense Therapies.

Jesse has an impressive on-field resume, one that deserves high commendation. Starting with rugby league as a kid in Sydney’s west, Jesse moved to Canberra at 18 to join the Brumbies academy. Scouted by Michael O’Connor, he soon became a regular fixture in the Australian Rugby Sevens Team and spent 10 years helping the game transform into the amazing spectacle it is today. This journey took him around the world and led him to two Commonwealth Games, one as captain and one winning a Bronze medal. He played in two World Cups and the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“Rugby is a beautiful game, and many aspects of our sport seem to align with Carlien’s therapy approach: you’re on all fours and wrestling, activating your inner core, which helps settle the nervous system, and there’s plenty of running. It’s a great way to get kids the sensory input they often crave in a positive way.”

Jesse leads Sense Sports in Woonona, NSW, and runs Sense Therapies alongside his wife, Carlien.

Carlien Parahi

Owner & Co-Founder of Sense Therapies & Sense Sports

Carlien is the founder of Sense Therapies & the Sense Sports programs and has been a Paediatric Occupational Therapist for over 10 years.

She has significant experience in helping parents and children understand more about Sensory Processing Disorders / difficulties, delays in gross motor or fine motor skill development, Autism, Social-emotional difficulties, ADHD, Trauma and many more. She is passionate about assisting parents with building safety and connection into their family unit. She uses a child-led approach and focuses on helping families understand their child’s individual sensory, emotional and physical differences in order to best support a child to thrive.

As the Founder of Sense Sports, Carlien has a special interest in sport and its many uses; particularly as a therapy tool to improve social skills, emotional regulation, coordination, Sensory Processing and a sense of community. Carlien leads the clinical team who deliver Sense Rugby across Australia and New Zealand and is considered a leader in inclusive sport.

Her empathetic, playful nature and knowledge in child development has helped hundreds of children become more successful at their daily activities.

Privacy & data

We collect personal and health information so our coach team can support your child safely. Health-related fields (diagnoses, allergies, NDIS details, therapy goals) are encrypted at rest and only viewable by your local coach team and Sense Sports HQ. We comply with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. For US-equivalent compliance our infrastructure is built to support HIPAA controls. See our README for the full technical posture.