Student Spotlight: Hailey Loughlin, William Floyd High School Senior

WFHS senior Hailey Loughlin, a two-sport scholar athlete, plans on majoring in physical therapy at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania in the fall.

A leader by example both in the classroom and on the court, William Floyd High School senior Hailey Loughlin has never sought the spotlight. But through hard work and dedication in both her academics and athletics, it always seemed to find her. Hailey, 17, of Shirley, is a scholar-athlete with a 95+ weighted grade point average and multiple accolades in both tennis and basketball, including All-State, All-County and All-League honors, as well as a busy extracurricular/volunteer schedule. Hailey attended William Floyd schools since kindergarten starting at William Floyd Elementary School, then William Floyd Middle School and now the high school.

For her efforts, her coaches nominated her for the Bethpage Federal Credit Union/News 12 Scholar Athlete of the Week award given each week throughout the school year. She is currently part of the pool of candidates up for consideration.

“Hailey is a student-athlete with great moral character,” said Rich Sinclair, William Floyd High School girls’ varsity basketball coach. “She has always handled herself in a mature and responsible way. Her tireless work ethic and positive attitude are both highly contagious.”

That contagious work ethic resulted in Hailey earning the girls’ varsity basketball team captaincy during her junior and senior years. During that time, the team has seen their best season in five years. They even surpassed the team’s highest win total during that span only halfway through this season. “Her efforts and leadership are contributing factors to the program’s early success this year,” added Coach Sinclair.

The effort and leadership that has caught the attention of her teachers, coaches and teammates does not stop when the game is over or the school week ends. Hailey, throughout her high school tenure, has positively contributed to the William Floyd school community in various ways – she has pitched in as a volunteer for the Moriches Youth Organization, the William Floyd Basketball Youth Program, Police Benevolent Society Food Drive, Think Big Theatre Arts and the annual Breast Cancer Walk. She has also spent part of her summer vacations working at the William Floyd Summer Sports Camps, helping mentor the next generation of William Floyd student-athletes.

Her accomplishments and demeanor have also earned her the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NYSAPHERD) “Suffolk Zone High School Leadership Award” (William Floyd High School female recipient) for outstanding achievement in physical education and academics. This award is given to young lady who displays great character and leadership qualities as well as one who serves as a positive role model for her peers.

Throughout her high school career, Hailey described three extracurricular activities that have been most significant to her – National Honor Society, the Athletic Leadership Committee, and Youth & Government. “These clubs are very meaningful to me, because they have allowed me to find my voice and most importantly have allowed me to discover my personal beliefs and share them with others who may or may not feel the same way.”

The long list of extracurricular activities and accolades in basketball is more than enough to be proud of; however, Hailey’s top accomplishments as a student-athlete have come on the tennis court. A varsity player since ninth grade, Hailey has been honored for her tremendous play ever since she stepped on the tennis court at William Floyd High School. All-League each year and All-County since 10th grade, Hailey’s top honor came as a junior when she was named to the All-State team following an undefeated season in first doubles and finishing as one of the top 16 high school doubles teams in New York State with her tennis partner, Brooke Fernandez. Together, they became the first ever William Floyd tennis team to advance beyond the first round in the State finals.

“Hailey’s intelligence, perseverance and desire to succeed enabled her to become an outstanding tennis player,” said Dave Pia, William Floyd High School girls’ varsity tennis coach, who has had a front row seat watching Hailey’s tremendous William Floyd tennis career unfold. Coach Pia is no stranger to success, as he himself is a two-time USTA Coach of the Year who led the Colonials to a Suffolk County Championship in 2014. Coach Pia added, “Hailey has been instrumental in the success of the William Floyd tennis program over the past four years. She has helped lead the team to League, Division and Big Four titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. As an individual, she has excelled in both singles and doubles.”

With the reality of her William Floyd career drawing to a close, Hailey has looked ahead toward her next chapter, while also reflecting on her success as a Colonial. “It’s always been academics first, athletics second. The coaches have been really great at reminding the team about that.” Hailey added that after she graduates in June, she will miss the friendships she has made both in the classroom and on the basketball and tennis courts. “I’ll also miss Coach Pia’s witty comments,” she added.

As for a career path, Hailey has her sights set on becoming a physical therapist. She will be majoring in physical therapy at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania with the goal of helping to change lives of future athletes.