Hailey Clingan '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Hailey Clingan and I am a center defender for the SoCal Blues, as well with the varsity team for Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CA. I am a entering my junior year in the class of 2024. I started my soccer career when I was 7 years old and have racked up an 8-year knowledge of the sport. I started as a center forward for my AYSO team in 2013 and when joining LA Galaxy in 2017 in my first year of club soccer, I moved to a defending center midfielder. When joining the SoCal Blues I was moved to center defender and I have continued to grow in the position to this day.  

I am now in my 5th year with the SoCal Blues and have continued to learn and develop as a player with the help of the coaching staff. I started as a Flight 1 player struggling to learn the concept of being a center defender, but as I began to develop at a rapid pace, I was taken notice of at Albion Cup in 2018 by Blues ECNL Coach Brandy Holley who pulled me up to the ECNL team. Ever since then I have developed a sense of leadership on the field and earned the respect of many coaches and fellow players.

Soccer has become a core part of my life and has helped me to develop as a person. Focusing hard on a sport has contributed to my development as a student by bringing my desire to "win" to academics. Academics have always come first for me and my family. I joined the Gate/HONORS program in 2014 and have continued to strive academically throughout middle and high school, now with a class rank of 28 (out of 500) in the final semester of sophomore year and a 4.28 GPA. The next step in my life plan is to attend an academically challenging college, learning towards becoming a Biomedical Engineer or Sports Physician, and to continue my growth as a soccer player.

I am also a multi-sport athlete. Freshman and sophomore years I participated as a varsity long jumper and sprinter on the Edison track-and-field team. I Qualified for CIF prelims for the 4x100m and long jump, even breaking our school's fresh-soph record as a freshman for the long jump by half of a foot, and extending the record my sophomore year. I was also a member of the 4x100 team that is ranked 4th all-time at Edison High School. 

My coaches and teachers have always described me as a leader as well as a kind soul. I am recognized as a team captain, an on-field leader by Coach Brandy, and as a trustworthy teammate for players and classmates to rely on. My confidence and competitiveness on the field is what makes me stand out as a player as well as a person. My soccer team has always been more like a family than it has been a team. I treat everyone with respect and try to reinforce my players with positivity. I also learn from my mistakes and correct them quickly which has made me a very coachable player. I am an enjoyable person both on and off the field and I am always ready to make new friends to laugh with. I come to practices and games with a big smile on my face ready to play the game that I love.