From Benton County to Iowa Valley

MARENGO — A Benton County native has joined Compass Memorial Healthcare as athletic trainer for Iowa Valley Community School District.

Cale Jamesson grew up in Keystone, graduating from Benton Community School District in 2016. He played football and baseball during high school and played baseball for Cornell College in Mount Vernon while earning a degree in kinesiology there.

COVID shut down many institutions in his senior year.

Jamesson worked at Procter & Gamble in Iowa City for a while after earning his bachelor’s degree. “I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to be doing the rest of my life,” said Jamesson.

He did some research and found the Iowa City athletic trainer program. He observed the vocation at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.

“That kind of just helped me find what I really wanted to do,” said Jamesson. He loves sports, particularly the medical side of it, he said.

Jamesson graduated from the University of Iowa in May with a Master’s Degree in athletic training.

“My wife and I just moved to town,” said Jamesson. Taylor Jamesson is from Blairstown. The couple is happy to be close to family.

“[That’s] what I think kind of helped my decision to come down this way,” Jamesson said.

Compass provides athletic trainers at no cost to several schools in the area, including HLV and Belle Plaine. Jamesson will work with Iowa Valley, which hasn’t had a trainer for four or five years, Jamesson said.

Each of the athletic trainers has an office at the schools they work with. The Belle Plaine athletic trainer, Chance Baburek, was a year ahead of Jamesson at Iowa and was a mentor to him.

The athletic trainers develop policies and plans for their schools and stay up to date on state athletic regulations.

“The big thing that I was drawn to … was that it’s very community driven,” said Jamesson. Compass wants to support the community it serves, he said.

Jamesson focuses on injury prevention. He provides rehabilitation when needed, watches practices and plans for emergencies that he hopes will not happen.

“I’m there to provide a hand to the students,” Jamesson said, and to reduce costs and stress for the parents. Jamesson is on hand to diagnose injuries at practices and games which otherwise might send student athletes to the emergency room.

Jamesson’s medical contact at the hospital is Doctor of Osteopathy Ben Miller.

Jamesson can’t be everywhere, so he has to manage his time. He’ll make sure he’s in attendance for big events, he said.

“I’ve been traveling with the baseball and softball teams,” Jamesson said. This fall he’ll attend all the home football games.

Football has a higher risk of injury and risk of serious injury, said Jameson, so he plans to be there.

During the summer he’ll be in the weight room will attend open gym sessions.

All of the coaches have Jamesson’s contact information, he said.

With student athletes, he plays an educational role. He explains anatomy and how to best perform movements used in the students’ chosen sports.

Jamesson always tries to find the parents and communicate with them after he’s met with a student so parents know what’s going on with their children’s health.

“In the high school setting … there have been major strides in strength and conditioning,” Jamesson said. But he still needs to educate students.

They may know the major muscles, but they don’t know the smaller muscles or tendons and how they affect performance.

Iowa Valley does a really good job with weights and conditioning, said Jamesson. They teach students correct movement patterns and stretching.

They start that in sixth and seventh grades, Jamesson said. “We want them to learn how to move their bodies in an athletic way.”

One of the most prevalent sports injuries are ankle sprains, Jamesson said. Common practice used to be resting it. Modern medicine is rethinking that practice. “You can kind of be a little more aggressive with it,” Jamesson said.

Exercises can strengthen the muscles and prevent the injury. That will also help rehab faster.

Baseball coaches have been working with pregame and postgame stretching with the pitches to prevent shoulder injuries.

“I have a baseball background,” said Jamesson, so he likes developing those programs.

Jamesson’s goal is to keep the athletes safe and healthy in every sport, preventing injury wherever possible.