Next to her desk hangs a framed green Jordy Nelson football jersey from the Green Bay Packers — “Mindy – thanks for everything, you’re the best! Jordy Nelson,” it reads — and rising above her dark wood desk are autographed white footballs, but perhaps the most significant success story comes in a photograph of Mindy Hoffman posed with former Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman on the field following a game.
“Mindy, Thanks for always going above & beyond to get me back on the field! You’re the best! TZ12,” it reads.
Not once, but twice Hoffman helped Zimmerman, a Third Team All-American, recover from fibula injuries to return to play in a bowl game. In 2012, the team co-captain missed the final two games of the regular season with a left fibula injury only to return for the Fiesta Bowl. In 2013, Zimmerman missed the final two regular-season contests after injuring his right fibula, but he returned to play his final-career game in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
“I watched that kid battle through injuries and had a surgical procedure and came back and played the same season,” Hoffman says. “He worked his butt off for me. I got to watch him play in the bowl game, which was awesome. That was one of the most cherished moments.”
For nearly two decades, Hoffman has been a cherished part of the K-State football program. Hoffman is in her 18th year overall at K-State in 2023 and her fifth as Head Football Athletic Trainer. Hoffman, who is entering her 17th season working with the football program, served as associate athletic trainer from 2013 to 2018 before being promoted.
As of 2022, Hoffman is one of just 11 females to serve as Head Football Athletic trainer at a FBS school.
“Coming out of grad school, that was my goal,” Hoffman says. “People asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I either wanted to work in the NFL or be the head athletic trainer for a Division I football team. The amount of women was very small.”
Hoffman’s talents and dedication has made her one of the best at her duties in the country. She was named 2016 Big 12 Assistant Athletic Trainer of the Year while she played a key role in the K-State Sports Medicine staff earning 2017 and 2021 Big 12 Sports Medicine Staff of the Year.
“You think of all the hours that you put in and everything that you sacrificed to do your job,” she says, “it was something special for sure.”
Hoffman, a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, came to K-State after earning her master’s degree in athletic training in May 2006 at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Her graduate degree came after she earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education from Purdue in May 1999. She spent four years as a teacher and coach before pursuing a career in athletic training.
She coached under her father, Herk Hoffman — a legendary high school softball coach who passed away in 2010. Herk Hoffman Field was established in April 2009, a nod to the man who started the Royal Center (Indiana) High School softball program in 1990 and went 287-92 in 14 seasons as head coach with 10 Midwest Conference titles, eight sectional championships, and back-to-back appearances in the state finals in 2001 and 2002.
Hoffman and older sister Tammi both played on the same team under their father. However, Mindy suffered a torn ACL her senior year, which derailed future athletic endeavors, but gave her an appreciation for the art of recovery and rehabilitation.
“I saw people help me, and I wanted to be one of those people, too, that helped to get people back onto the field,” Hoffman says. “Sports have been a part of all my life. I wanted to continue to work in the sports field. Athletic training was always kind of a passion with it.”
Hoffman’s first assignment at K-State was women’s basketball in 2006-07. She became a football assistant athletic trainer the following year.
This particular June day finds Hoffman immersed in summer workouts. Her summer days begin at 5:15 a.m. for early-morning workouts.
“We get guys ready and some guys get taped and some guys get into the tubs and then we set up hydration (stations) for the team run and then we observe the run and make adjustments that we need for guys who are injured and to be there for medical coverage and emergencies,” she says. “We come back from the run and right away we jump into treatments and rehab. We’re basically on the floor from 7 to 11 a.m. working rehabs. We have one more (afternoon) weight lifting group so we wait for them to get finished and then those guys do recovery.”
She finishes each day finalizing injury reports.
As for game days in the fall?
“We get to the stadium and start taping right away and get the guys ready for the game, taping ankles, taping wrists, taping anything they might need,” she says. “Then it’s out to the field and we’re ready to roll if any injuries occur. A quiet day is a good day for us.”
When things don’t go as planned, well, she points to Zimmerman as perhaps her favorite success story.
“My biggest thing is I love to watch a guy who’s come off a surgical procedure back performing at a high level again, so that’s my biggest reward,” she says. “It’s kind of that mom role, because you kind of helped nourish this kid back and got him back to where he was before. It’s very rewarding in our profession to watch a kid do that. That’s happened multiple times for me and it’s very rewarding.
“Time commitment is maybe the biggest challenge. You have to do what you love and love what you do. We work behind the scenes. We don’t do it for the fame or the glory. I’m very passionate about what I do, and I think that’s why I’ve done it for so long. I care about these kids. I care about this team.”
As one of a handful of female football head athletic trainers across the country, Hoffman has become a role model in her profession — a spot she particularly enjoys.
“I think it’s awesome,” she says. “We have a lot of females in our program and I have a lot of them reach back out to me asking questions: ‘How’d you get there?’ ‘What did you do?’ How can I get into your position?’ I get questions from our students. It isn’t easy. It took me 14 years to reach (my position). To have people reach out to you and say you’re a role model, things like that are huge, because in the world of college athletics you don’t have a lot of females (in my position).”
As evidenced by the number of personalized thank-yous in her office, Hoffman is certainly appreciated.