A normal day for Sanford Health’s Athletic Trainer Colton Laymon all changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Laymon, who works with athletes at Perham High School, had his day-to-day work change with the pandemic.
Laymon graduated from North Dakota State University last May and recently transferred to Sanford Health and has been working in Perham for just a few months.
Laymon said his normal day would begin in the morning at the High School. He would work athletes during their Power Hour and athletes dealing with an injury would visit for an evaluation or physical therapy. Throughout the day, juniors and seniors with an open hour would stop in as well. After the school day, he would work with athletes as they prepare for practices and game days.
However, that has all changed drastically. Laymon said he is no longer seeing the normal patients that he is used to with the stay-at-home order. He can only be in contact via text or phone call.
“It gives me the chance to catch up on a lot of paperwork and continue my education which is required by the Board of Certification for Athletic Trainers,” Laymon said. “They require 50 continuing education units within the two years. That’s what I’m working on now, continuing my studies to be the best Athletic Trainer that I can be.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Laymon said he is missing the face-to-face contact with his patients that he sees regularly and seeing their progress improve and getting them back into their field of play.
“I kind of miss seeing that aspect of athletic training, working with that athlete and getting them back to 100 percent,” Laymon said.
Laymon said most of the questions he has received haven’t pertained to COVID-19, it’s mainly about home rehab during this time.
“I have rarely heard any questions about that, it’s basically what they can do at home as far as rehab and what they should be doing when it comes to working with overuse injuries that they acquired during basketball or wrestling,” Laymon said. “I haven’t really heard much about the virus itself or had any questions about the virus itself.”
It’s been quite the adjustment for Laymon, who went from attending practices and games almost every day to having his daily routine change in a matter of moments.
“It’s an interesting and an unprecedented one from being at games or practices every day to almost nothing now,” Laymon said. “We kind of get the offseason work that we do, which came a bit premature, but it’s something we have to deal with right now.”
Laymon said you can’t really speculate about the future and the upcoming seasons, but he suggests athletes try and do as much as they can from home to become the best athlete that they can become.
“Try not to lose focus on your goal. For the seniors, it’s extremely heart-wrenching and tough that they have to go through this in their last season,” Laymon said. “For those underclassmen, a lot of them kind of lose sight of their goals as a student-athlete and to keep those in mind and keep doing what they can.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Laymon said he will be working with students during the summer months. He said he already planned to be working in the weight room with some of the athletes.
“Athletes that do need to see me, especially ones that have those more severe injuries that need continuous rehab throughout the summer, I’ll be meeting with them,” Laymon said. “I’ll have it set up if an athlete needs to see me for an injury evaluation or do some treatment, they can contact me and set up a time throughout the summer and I’ll be able to work with them.”
Currently, Laymon said right now it’s safest for everyone to listen to the protocols put in place by Governor Tim Walz about staying indoors and avoiding physical contact with people.
“It’s a very interesting time and we have to heed the advice of the people that are directing our officials in the state and the country,” Laymon said. “We need to heed their advice and not make any unnecessary trips outdoors and wait until this blows over.”
