WE ARE 401: Elm's Hailey Smith-Young, Softball Star in the Making

In our latest “WE ARE 401” video, we meet Hailey Smith-Young, an 8th grader at Elm Middle School. Besides being an excellent student, Hailey just happens to be one of the top 14-and-under girls softball players in the nation!
As the Cougars' ace pitcher and most prolific slugger, Hailey helped lead her teammates to three Leyden-Norwood Athletic Conference title games (2022, 2023, 2024), two conference championships (2023, 2024), and one perfect season (2024).
This year Hailey threw four no-hitters - including no-hitters in both of Elm's playoff games! She went 7-0 this season, recording 80 strikeouts and giving up only four hits against 137 batters faced. As a hitter she averaged .464, with team highs of nine home runs and 25 runs batted it!
Amazingly, Hailey began playing softball only a few months before she came to Elm as a 6th grader after attending Elmwood Elementary School. She began her softball career in a recreational league with the River Grove Rockets, then she joined the Chicago Prospects travel team when her knack for the game became clear.
Soon Hailey was starting for Elm while also earning a spot on the Chicago Prospects' premier-level team for her age group. Under the leadership of Elm head coach Susan Dutton and Prospects head coach/team founder James Kateeb, Hailey quickly established herself as a standout in all phases of the game. But it was pitching that sparked her greatest interest.
With the support of her parents, Larrissa Smith and Michael Young, Hailey developed her pitching skills, using TH-cam videos to teach herself how to throw six different types of pitches: fastball, changeup, dropball, screwball, curveball and riseball. She has refined those skills even further by working with former Northwestern Wildcat pitcher Danielle Williams, who meets with Hailey once a week for private coaching sessions.
All of Hailey’s hard work has paid off with middle school and travel team championships as well as individual national recognition. For two consecutive years she was selected for USA Softball’s All-American Games in Oklahoma City. And she has twice made USA Softball’s High Performance Program, the pipeline to the Women’s National Team.
With her eyes set on playing softball at the highest level in college and as a pro, Hailey has quite the journey ahead of her. We’re delighted that Elm and District 401 have been a part of her story so far!
"WE ARE 401" is a video series highlighting those who have a connection with Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401, past or present, and whose stories help illustrate who we are.