St. Mary’s Tori Faieta defies the odds on way to 1,000th point

Tori Faieta didn’t start her basketball career at St. Mary’s thinking about milestones, but she’s primed to reach a big one and could do it as early as Friday when the Spartans take to the court in a game against rival Bishop Fenwick.Faieta needs only nine points to add her name to the list of St. Mary’s players who have scored 1,000 career points. As impressive as it is to accomplish the feat as a junior, that’s not what sets Faieta apart.The 6-foot-2 center is hearing-impaired. She started losing her hearing when she was four years old and although that made playing team sports a challenge, Faieta was more than up for it. She started playing basketball as a fourth grader at Sacred Heart and has gone on to become one of the top players in the Catholic Central League Large.Faieta’s parents, Jim and Donna Faieta, never tried to limit her. Although some doctors suggested she might be better off doing an individual sport like swimming, they encouraged her to pursue a variety of different activities.”In the fourth grade, she decided she wanted to try basketball,” Donna Faieta said. “She never let it (her hearing disability) get in the way.”Faieta said when she was younger, she tried soccer, softball and swimming and in high school, tested the waters in volleyball, track and golf, but basketball was the one.”I just stuck to basketball. It’s what I’m most comfortable doing. I love it,” Faieta said.Off the court, Faieta wears two hearing aids, and she uses a personal FM system in her classes. She and her younger sister Taylor, who has the same condition, meet with a teacher for the hearing-impaired twice a week at St. Mary’s. Her twin, Rachel, is not hearing-impaired.Faieta and her teammates use a system of hand signals and numbers to communicate on the court. She also relies on lip reading and eye contact and although it sounds a bit daunting, it works.”I don’t really think about it anymore,” Faieta said. “I feel so comfortable right now. I know my teammates are going to be there for me.”St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said in the four years he’s coached her, he can count on one hand the times her hearing has been an issue.”She picks up stuff quicker than most,” Newhall said, adding that when she’s in school she’s wearing the hearing aids, but she doesn’t wear them in a game because they bother her.”There are very few instances when she’s not in tune,” Newhall said.As far as hitting the 1,000th career-point milestone, Faieta said it’s been kind of a goal, but not something she lives for. Her priority right now is for the Spartans to beat Fenwick on Friday. Next up is to win the Spartan Classic and then do well in the state tournament.Although her teammates and those who have watched her play over the years are aware of her hearing disability, those seeing her play for the first time are hard-pressed to notice anything different out there.”A lot of people are surprised (to find out),” Faieta said. “My mom says I hide it well because I don’t look like I need help.”The challenge, she said, is to be focused and ready all the time. This includes the classroom as well.”Her story has been well documented and every time someone writes about it and you read it, it’s more remarkable. Look what she’s done, academically and on the basketball court. She’s not just getting by, she’s excelling in both,” Newhall said.Faieta transferred to St. Mary’s in the eighth grade and, although she wasn’t a starter, still finished with 164 points. She had 276 as a freshman, 295 as a sophomore and so far she has 256 as a junior. She has also been a force on the boards with 1,039 rebounds.Faieta, who is a captain, was a Catholic Central League All-Star as a freshman and softball and was Most Valuable Player in the Spartan Classic last year.To say Faieta doesn’t dwell on her disability would be an understatement.”I think I’m extremely blessed to have this hearing loss because it’s allowed me to meet so many amazing people,” Faieta said. “There are so many worse thi