Hayden Goodman '21 Recruiting Profile

My name is Hayden Goodman and I am a class of 2021 middle blocker and outside hitter for Hive 16 Gold in Utah. I was born and raised in Anchorage,  Alaska and still consider Alaska home. However, my life would not be the same without our move to Utah in 2011. Volleyball was not very popular in Alaska, so moving to Utah gave me the chance to find my passion for this sport. I became obsessed with volleyball from the first day I went to camp when I was only 12, and the past four years of my life have been so much better because of it. This move became a big part of who I am, building on my earlier life in Alaska.

Growing up in Alaska I spent a lot of time in the outdoors, which taught me how to rely on myself and develop a sense of independence. I have been skiing since I was only 2, and I continued alpine ski racing upon my arrival in Park City, Utah. Throughout junior high I ski raced competitively, along with playing volleyball which made for a slam packed schedule. I had the usual five days of school each week, along with skiing 6 days a week, and finally volleyball practice 4 days a week. This taught me an amazing sense of time management and discipline that has been really helpful in my time at Judge HS.  Judge was named by the Washington Post as the most academically challenging high school in UT and in the top 2% nationwide, a statistic all our teachers seem happy to support with quite a bit of homework. Today, I live an hour away from school and volleyball, so I spend every spare minute I have at the school library fitting in homework so I can commit as much time playing volleyball as possible outside of school. This discipline comes naturally to me because of my past experiences ski racing.

Going to a Montessori elementary I became a passionate, self motivated student. I split my time every week between skiing and school which were at the time the two things that really mattered to me. Both my parents and my grandmother were teachers and school work has always been important in our house. I have taken that love and appreciation with me throughout my life so far, and am excited to continue it in my college experience. While I know it is still early, I have really enjoyed Judge's sports medicine program which has both classes and hands on practical applications.

However, volleyball has become my true love and it has given me the chance to discover myself in a team sport and improve to a level I could never have imagined. I am eager to see how I can continue to grow as a volleyball player and student in my collegiate career.