How an IU athletic trainer tapes a team together

The only thing moving on Deborah Tobias Field at 7:30 a.m. on an early September 2025 morning is the quietly hissing sprinkler. But in a nearby dusty outdoor training closet, Ali Crouch is already in motion. The Indiana field hockey and women’s golf athletic trainer, who also oversees training for the men’s and women’s tennis programs, fills water jugs and pushes carts full of equipment and medical supplies.

The carts squeak as she pushes them toward the sideline. She expertly adjusts field hockey players’ straps and splints.

Around her, the field awakens as turf shoes crunch on gravel. Around 20 teammates' voices overlap, and head coach Kayla Bashore’s instructions cut through the air.

The season is still fresh. Muscles are adjusting to the grind of practices, weight training and a schedule that can include two games a week, while routines are just beginning to take shape.

Excitement and nervousness hang over the team as Indiana field hockey prepares to start Big Ten play with its Sept. 19 matchup against Iowa, one of the conference's top teams. Field hockey players push through drills and sprints, their sticks tapping and voices echoing across the field. But on the sideline, Crouch is readying for a different game, one that no scoreboard can capture.

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Crouch has been the Indiana field hockey athletic trainer for eight years, working behind the scenes during the demanding regular season.

During her time, she’s seen steady improvement from a team still chasing its first Big Ten and national titles. In the regular season, Indiana often plays two games a week with little time for recovery in between.

Field hockey is a fast, physical sport with players constantly sprinting, cutting and battling for position while controlling a hard ball with sticks. The toll adds up fast, with injuries ranging from fractured fingers to torn hips that require immediate attention.

That’s where Crouch comes in.

She helps guide players through injuries, manage recovery and keep them on the field through a grueling schedule. Her days are filled with tape and treatments, but also conversations, reassurance and the steady care that holds the team together.

Before practice drills start, Crouch settles near the sidelines, unloading her supplies. Rolls of white tape line the table and scissors lie within reach. She pours Gatorade powder into water jugs, setting them out for easy access. Everything has a place, arranged so she can grab what she needs without looking when a player walks over.

But her impact spreads beyond just injury.

“She’s kind of a jack of all trades,” senior back Kylie Dawson said. “Whatever you need, you kind of talk it through with Ali to see what the best plan is.”

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Crouch started playing soccer at 9 and played through high school. Her school didn’t have an athletic trainer.

"If you were injured, you just sucked it up and figured it out," she said.

Curiosity about sports medicine eventually led Crouch to pursue a Master of Science in athletic training at Indiana University. Her interest in the field was partly inspired by her mother, Marcia Young, who worked as a nurse.

After working in both high school and collegiate settings, Crouch returned to Indiana in 2018 as the primary athletic trainer for field hockey.

Players approach her almost instinctively during practice. Sometimes they don’t even need to say what’s wrong. Crouch simply reaches for tape.

"I’ve been coined ‘the guru’ on staff for how to make a splint for a finger fracture," she said with a smile.

She unwraps a strip of white tape, the edges crinkling, and molds a small splint along an injured finger before practice. She presses the tape snugly but gently as the adhesive mixes with the player’s sweat. Crouch gives a reassuring nod before the player goes back onto the field.

At home, Crouch balances a different kind of routine. She and her husband Eric raise two young children — an 8-year-old daughter Matilda and a 3-year-old son Jennings — and mornings start early. She’s up by 6 a.m., helping Jennings get ready for daycare before making breakfast for Matilda, who dances ballet and participates in Girl Scouts. By 8:30 a.m., after walking Matilda to the bus stop, Crouch heads to work to begin her day.

But when there is a morning practice, the schedule tightens even more, with the entire family out the door by 7 a.m. Crouch drops Jennings off at daycare, and Eric brings Matilda to school.

Even with the demands of her job, Crouch stays involved in Matilda’s activities, volunteering with her Girl Scout troop.

During the season, Crouch spends more time with the team than with her family. But on the field, she said, she has 25 children to look after.

“Ali quickly becomes their mom more than the coaches are,” field hockey team physician Kevin Miller said. “The coaches are expecting something of them, but they can’t really ‘fail’ Ali.”

Senior midfielder and forward Anna Mozeleski, who has known Crouch since 2022, agrees.

“She was already motherly when I met her, but since she takes care of our physical bodies, she’s just a comforting presence to be around,” Mozeleski said.

Mozeleski remembers a moment at the end of last season when that support mattered most.

“I had to step back because of an injury, and she just listened,” she said. “I was crying and talking about everything, and she just sat there. She even called her husband and said she’d be late because she wanted to stay and help me through it.”

But caring for the whole team’s mental and physical wellbeing can take an emotional toll. Over the years, Crouch has delivered difficult news to players, like injuries that end seasons, and helped them navigate the uncertainty that follows.

“I feel like I’m a pretty empathetic person,” Crouch said. “Sometimes it hurts me just as much as it hurts them when I have to pull someone from practice because of an injury.”

Dawson still remembers the day Crouch told her she would need surgery on her torn hip.

“I just remember I started crying,” Dawson said. “Ali gave me a hug and told me, ‘We’ll support you no matter what decision you make — if you want to delay surgery or if you want to have it now.’”

That empathy shapes how she approaches the job each day. It guides every decision, from helping players manage injuries to knowing when to offer encouragement, even in moments most never see. When a player’s boyfriend broke up with her, Crouch was the first person she called.

"It’s a balance of knowing your athletes’ bodies but also knowing their personalities, how they cope with setbacks," she said. "We see them every day. We celebrate their wins, big and small. We worry when they’re hurting. It does start to feel like family."

•••

When game day arrives, Crouch’s routine shifts from preparation to vigilance.

During Indiana’s game against Iowa, Crouch stays at the end of the bench alongside athletic performance coach Catie Mulligan, their usual spot during practice.

For the hour of play, she moves with the same steady rhythm she uses during training. She refills Gatorade jugs, swaps out water bottles and handles the minor, often overlooked tasks, such as motivating the team and making sure they’re ready to substitute in.

The action picks up in the 25th minute. Iowa strikes first after Hawkeyes junior midfielder Lieve van Kessel finds the back of the cage. IU responds in the 32nd with junior midfield/forward Charlotte Glasper converting a pass from junior forward/midfield Theresa Ricci to tie the score.

From the end of the bench, Crouch watches every collision closely. When players tumble to the turf or clutch a stick in hand, her attention sharpens, ready to step in. Moments like that remind players how quickly a season can change.

With four minutes remaining, junior forward Mijntje Hagen scores to pull the Hoosiers within one point. The team rallies, pushing forward with intensity, but time is slipping. The play clock ticks down.

•••

Despite all the hats athletic trainers wear in their role, they earn far less than their peers in similar health professions. The national median salary for an athletic trainer sits around $60,250 as of May 2024, while physical therapists earn an average of $101,020 nationally. Physical therapists in the United States must have a doctoral degree and typically take on broader clinical responsibilities, while athletic trainers require a master’s degree and focus on injury prevention, evaluation and on-field care.

In Indiana, the average salary for an athletic trainer is even lower at $58,059. Crouch’s salary, according to the Indiana University faculty/staff salary listing, is just above the national median at $63,561, even as she puts in 60 hours a week during the field hockey season.

These realities contribute to high turnover and burnout in the profession.

For Crouch, the emotional demands are real but manageable, partly because of her experience in the field and her ability to set boundaries. Having a family has helped with that. She doesn’t respond to messages after 8 p.m. unless it’s an emergency.

"I try to do a better job of separating myself,” she said.

Amid the hands-on work and emotional labor, Crouch also manages a web of logistical coordination behind the scenes. On game days, she makes sure emergency protocols are in place and that the setup crew and Big Ten Network broadcasters have room to work.

She ensures ambulances can navigate the field as safely as possible, double-checks that extra Gatorade and towels are available and verifies visiting teams have what they need. Even when no crisis arises, this careful orchestration demands constant attention to keep the game running smoothly and everyone safe.

That commitment to player wellness is something others in the program have noticed.

“A good athletic trainer communicates well, is flexible, available, trustworthy and accountable,” Miller said. “Ali embodies all of these.”

She keeps players supported in every moment: checking in before practice, handing out water bottles to players and finding their dirty mouthguards.

“I truly, really can’t emphasize the point — I’m not sure what place we would be physically without her, but I also can’t say where we would be mentally without her,” Mozeleski said.

•••

The score is 3-2. Indiana pulls its goalie for an extra attacker, desperate to even the score. But in the end, the Hawkeyes' defense proves to be too much, blocking shots and clearing the ball.

After the final whistle, Indiana falls 3-2 to Iowa, a narrow loss after a hard-fought game. Both teams take a few seconds to catch their breath before lining up for handshakes near midfield. Indiana players walk over with subdued expressions, some with hands on hips or sticks at their sides, exchanging quick words with the Hawkeyes as they move down the line.

Crouch moves steadily among them, making sure everyone is okay amid the postgame exhaustion. The players’ work is done for today. Hers is far from over.

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