From her home in Coaldale, to her graduation from Panther Valley High School, and then on to earning degrees at Penn State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Devin Demyanovich’s life is proof that hard work does pay off.

For the past 10 years, Demyanovich has been a part of the athletic department at Duke University.

Recently, she was promoted to Assistant Director of Athletic Medicine at the nationally renown Atlantic Coast Conference school located in Durham, North Carolina.

“When I tell people here that I graduated from Panther Valley in a class of 74 students, they’re surprised I come from such a small town,” said Demyanovich, a former All District volleyball player for the Panthers.

At Duke, she is the primary athletic trainer for the Blue Devils’ wrestling, fencing, and field hockey teams. Her first responsibility is to work with doctors, coaches, and staff to diagnose and then rehabilitate injured athletes so they can perform at highly competitive levels in their respective sports.

The science of recovery

With degrees in kinesiology (the study of human movement) and a premedical concentration in athletic training, Demyanovich’s specialty at Duke is applied neuromechanics.

“What we do is focus on understanding how the brain moves the body through the nervous system,” she explained. “This helps us in the recovery process for the athlete.”

In her job as athletic trainer at Duke, it is not mandatory she know the intricacies of the specific sports that are under her supervision, but it is helpful that she recognizes certain patterns in sport-specific injuries.

“Because of the body movements a particular sport requires that the athlete perform, we see that wrestlers often get knee sprains and shoulder tears. Fencing can cause lower back pain and knee tendinitis. Field hockey can stress the whole body.”

When an injury occurs, Demyanovich is in communication with parents, coaches, and “most importantly the athlete.”

A few years ago, a nationally ranked wrestler at Duke sustained a significant shoulder injury at practice just before the NCAA tournament was to begin.

“Of course, there was a need to try and get him back and able to compete in the tournament,” said Demyanovich. “So with our team of doctors and athletic trainers, we devised a program of therapy.”

He was back on the mat for the tournament and finished in seventh place overall.

“He didn’t win a national championship, but we were thrilled when he gained All American honors,” she said. “He was so grateful that we were able to get him ready to perform. This is what makes me feel good in my heart.”

Demyanovich - who now also supervises all the Olympic sports programs at Duke - loves doing her part to allow student athletes to compete at the highest level of their respective sport. But she also sees the big picture beyond athletic competition.

“They come here as kids and when they leave, they’re full grown adults who we release into the world,” said Demyanovich. “For me personally, that is so cool.”

Safety first

When the pandemic hit and sports programs across the country were shut down, Duke sent everyone home from March until June of last year. During that period, Demyanovich and her staff knew they needed to develop strategies that allowed the athletes to compete, but also stay safe.

In the fall, the student-athletes were given the choice to opt out of competing in their sports. But if they returned to campus and elected to play there would be restrictions beyond the CDC guidelines.

“We told everyone that sacrifices had to be made,” Demyanovich said. “Social distancing was a must - including in their living space. No parties or group gatherings. The kids listened and the coaches bought in.”

When the inevitable positive cases showed up in a student athlete, Demyanovich and the Duke staff were ready. Isolation rooms for quarantining were set up, and a tracing system to determine where the infected athlete had been was activated.

Demyanovich has also been the point person working in concert with Duke Student Health and the Campus Isolation Care Team. She also arranges transportation to and from the JB Duke Hotel, where Duke athletes who have had a brush with the virus stay until they’re cleared.

“It was something no one had any experience with and I have to admit, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since,” she said with a laugh about the massive amount of time that needed to be allotted to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Demyanovich was happy to report that 26 of the 28 sports programs at Duke were able to compete for championships in light of the fact that some fall sports’ seasons were moved to spring times on the calendar - something which made the task of keeping everyone safe that more challenging.

“It has been absolutely unbelievable to see how everyone has come together – the student athletes, the coaches, all of the support staff – it makes all of the work that goes into everything worth it,” Demyanovich said. “The culmination of all of that work was, at a time when everything feels abnormal, we got to give these student athletes a sense of normalcy through competing.”

Her work has earned the praise of her superiors

“Devin has been my right hand since the beginning of the pandemic and has done an incredible job,” said Bob Weiseman the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Facilities and Game Operations at Duke University.

Hometown tributes

Although she’s a Duke Blue Devil now, Demyanovich holds onto wonderful memories from her days as a Panther Valley Panther.

“I admired Mark Shanton, who was the athletic director at Panther Valley when I was a student,” said the 2005 PV graduate. “I talked to him about the profession, and it was there and then that I knew I wanted to help people.

‘Growing up in Coaldale and going to school at Panther Valley, I was able to see the many hardworking blue collar people and the challenges they faced every day. This is how I got my work ethic. I loved my wholesome upbringing there. Coaldale is a beautiful place, and I look forward to going home and visiting my family on holidays.”

A small-town girl who has made her mark at a big-time university, has been a dream story that has come true for Coaldale’s Devin Demyanovich.