Pioneer Athlete Spotlight on Hailee Lam

Name: Hailee Lam
School: Clayton Valley Charter High School
Grade: Senior
Sports: Track and Field, Softball

CONCORD, CA — Everyone who knows Lam (or even knows of her) is aware that she exhibits nothing but utmost dedication to each and every task she faces.

Although she was a softball player for a large part of her life, starting on the Pleasant Hill Panthers travel club at age nine and playing two years for Clayton Valley Charter’s softball program, Lam unexpectedly took a liking of track and field during her sophomore year. Throwing coach Tim McGallian says she originally tried being a runner but he “pulled her over” to his throwing squad.

She competed in the shot put and discus and this spring scored personal records in each event with a distance of 29-11.5 for the shot put and 98-11 in the discus. True to her insatiable nature, Lam assures that she could have done much better if it were not for the track season being condensed into a month, along with other COVID-19 protocols that made her typical training process nearly impossible. For example, she was unable to weight lift, a vital component in training for throwing events, due to the closure of gyms.

Although she stayed in shape with at-home workouts, she stressed that the short season did not give her the time she needed to improve the things she was struggling with. Regardless, Lam is grateful that her final track season was able to take place at all. For the majority of the 2020-21 school year, the probability of sports happening at all seemed quite slim, at least from the perspective of students.

Coach McGallian loves “her work ethic and great energy” that allowed her to be among the top area performers in both events.

Senior activities

Considering that all Clayton Valley Charter athletes were able to enjoy a season, there is a promise of other events whose likelihood of occurring also seemed bleak even a few months ago: senior activities. In large part thanks to Hailee Lam, CVCHS seniors will be able to enjoy most of the normal senior activities that were nearly taken from them by COVID-19.

As senior class president, Lam spearheaded planning senior sunrise, senior sunset and senior picnic, among many other events that she has coordinated with PFC and school administrators. Most notably, however, Lam took charge in planning a completely independent Senior Ball for Clayton Valley Charter that has no affiliation with the school. Because CVCHS was unable to take responsibility for such a large event, Lam took matters into her own hands. The completely safe event complies with all country ordinances and tickets are already sold out.

In addition to her duties as class president, Lam is president of Senior Women, Link Crew Commissioner, CVC Academic Mentor, member of the Public Service Academy and an independent tutor, all while maintaining a 4.4 GPA.

Moving forward

Lam will attend Cal Poly SLO in the fall, majoring in biological sciences on a pre-med track with a specialty in Parkinson’s research. Although her achievements in athletics and academics are quite notable on their own, she went above the role of a typical student body officer and planned an entire Senior Class Ball from nothing. This accomplishment alone is sure to bring joy to every senior in attendance and will one day be a memory held fondly by her class that thought they would not have the opportunity to attend a prom or ball.

All in all, Lam has made herself the hero of the Class of 2021, rescuing students from disappointment after disappointment brought on by the pandemic.

CVCHS student journalist Alexa Oldham wrote this Spotlight.

The Pioneer congratulates Hailee and thanks Athlete Spotlight sponsors Dr. Laura Lacey & Dr. Christopher Ruzicka who have been serving the Clayton and Concord area for 25 years at Family Vision Care Optometry.

Do you know a young athlete who should be recognized? Perhaps he or she has shown exceptional sportsmanship, remarkable improvement or great heart for the sport. Send your nomination for the Pioneer Athlete Spotlight today to sports@concordpioneer.com.