A little about Mark’s story…
From Dreams to Reality
Mark Hyan was born in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, he was introduced to various sports such as baseball, basketball, hockey, american football, and obviously soccer. However, it wasn’t until he was about 12 years old that he became a full time goalkeeper. As most goalkeepers start out, he was a right wing, a field player who would hop in goal every now and then. That was until he was diagnosed with severs disease - a cause of extreme pain in growing children that attacks the tendons and growth plates of the heels and knees. - The doctor had told him that he would have to stop playing sports for the time being because of the condition. That was when he argued about the possibility of playing goalkeeper, as there was very minimal running involved. It became clear that nothing was going to hold him back from playing the beautiful game, and the doctor allowed it. Going forward, Mark became a full-time goalkeeper for his then club team, Los Angeles Premier FC (later becoming Los Angeles Surf). The rest was history.
Mark enrolled and played baseball, American football and ran track at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, an all-boys college preparatory school. As he received Division 1 offers to play both american football and soccer, he continued his soccer career outside of school, eventually signing a USL Pro Amateur Contract with Orange County SC in the USL Championship, after a trial and contract offer from Memphis 901 of the USL Championship for the 2023 USL Season. Mark was training and playing for the first team, featuring on the roster for games against MLS side Portland Timbers, USL sides Louisville City, Hartford Athletic, and many more. In June of 2023, he went on trial with MLS side Columbus Crew, and was set to go on trial with Hibernian FC of the Scottish Premiership early July, but an in-game open dislocation and fracture of his right middle finger hindered this opportunity.
A huge setback for the 18 year old keeper, Mark decided to commit to play Division 1 soccer for ACC powerhouse, Virginia Tech, after receiving countless offers from Division 1 schools around the country. After returning to Loyola High School for his senior year of 2023 and continuing rehab, Mark early enrolled in January of 2024 at VT, skipping his final semester of High School. He played the spring season with the Hokies in Blacksburg, playing in 4 out 5 games for the Hokies. He started 3 out of those 4, against opponents University of North Carolina (UNC), University of Virginia (UVA), and posted a 3-0 shutout win against defending national champions, Clemson University. With his stellar spring, he is projected to start for the Hokies as a True Freshman Goalkeeper for the fall of 2024.
Mark has taken his love and passion for the game, and began to share that with other young aspiring goalkeepers and field players. With the creation of Mark Hyan Goalkeeping, he has made it easier to stand on a platform that gives the opportunity for boys and girls of all ages to learn the ins and outs of not only the game, but professional opportunities, the college recruiting process, dealing with agents, and off the field knowledge that all comes with pursuing a career in soccer, whether that be college, professional, or both.