Mark Jonas (born October 17, 1974 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who had a twelve-year professional career in the U.S. indoor and lower division outdoor leagues. He earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team in 1991.

High school and college

Jonas attended Bowie High School where he played on the boys' soccer team. His senior year, Bowie won the Maryland 4A championship and Jonas was named the All Met Player of the Year having scored 22 goals in addition to 9 assists. He then attended

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1992 to 1995.

Professional

In 1996, Jonas traveled to London in hopes of joining an English club, helped by the fact that, as the holder of a British passport, work permit issues were not an obstacle. He was offered a trial with

Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

(then in the third of the four English divisions), which he declined, hoping to start his professional career in a higher division. At some point during the 1996-1997 National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) season, Jonas played eight games for the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

. In 1999, he played for the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. During the 1999-2000 NPSL season, he played on game for the

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

. In the summer of 2000, he played six games with the

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. At some point he moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

where he spent the end of the 2002-2003 season with the San Diego Arsenal of the San Diego County Soccer League. In 2004, he signed with the

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American football (soccer), soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 t ...

and played with them until they folded following the 2006

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

season. He then moved to the expansion

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

for 2007. He retired at the end of the season, having played five league games.

National team

Jonas entered the national team program when he was selected for the U.S. U-17 national team which competed at the

1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fourth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Florence, Montecatini Terme, Viareggio, Massa, Carrara, and Livorno in Italy between 16 August and 31 August 1991. Players born after 1 August 1 ...

. The U.S. went 3-0 in group play, only to fall to Qatar in the second round.FIFA.com
On September 14, 1991, Jonas became one of three teenage players to earn a cap in the same game when he came on for Sadri Gjonbalaj in a 1-0 win over

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. At the time he was sixteen years, eleven months old. The other two teenagers in that game were Mike Slivinski, who was a month younger than Jonas, and

Nelson Vargas Nelson Vargas (born August 6, 1974) is an American former soccer player and coach. Vargas spent five seasons in Major League Soccer and earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team. He was also a member of the U.S. soccer ...

Coaching

In addition to his extensive playing resume, Jonas is Director of Player Development and coaches soccer a
Wake Futbol Club
in Holly Springs, NC. He manages and run
Route10 Futbol
which contains a vast majority of Wake FC
NCFC Youth
and other local club players. Jonas also coache
NCFC Youth
(formerly Capital Area Soccer League) the U13 Boys Academy Junior squad to
2016 National Championship

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas, Mark 1974 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players North Carolina Fusion U23 players North Carolina FC players Cleveland Crunch players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Soccer players from Washington, D.C. Philadelphia KiXX players Richmond Kickers players United States men's international soccer players USL First Division players Virginia Beach Mariners players A-League (1995–2004) players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Men's association football midfielders