Sam Poteet delivers a pitch during a game against St. Mary's on Tuesday. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Poteet's perseverance helps overcome her deafness

Sam Poteet looks like any other high school softball player.

A left-handed pitcher for the Tokay Tigers, the powerfully built Poteet follows up strikeouts with an exuberant fist pump and a "Yeah!"

A consummate team player, the Tokay squad and its coaches admire and respect her loyalty and work ethic. Longtime friend and team catcher Corinne Alexander calls Poteet's improvement as a pitcher over the last two seasons "phenomenal."

An intelligent student who carries a 3.70 grade point average, the constantly smiling Poteet is quietly becoming one of the Tigers' best pitchers and likely its staff ace come next season.

Only one thing sets Poteet apart from her teammates, coaches and fellow students: She is totally deaf.

Of course, Poteet does not think her deafness makes her unusual in any way. She seems to conduct her life in a perfectly healthy, normal fashion.

Poteet, who doesn't speak, uses sign language to communicate. She is usually accompanied by licensed sign language interpreter/translator Cindy Nobles whenever interpreting is needed for 11th-year Tokay coach Rick Vollstedt during games.

Probably the most amazing thing about Poteet is her game face. On cue, she can morph from a cheering teammate into an intense, focused starter or reliever whenever her number is called by Vollstedt. Poteet wears a particular style of prescription glasses that along with her purple Tokay jersey and black pants, combine to give her the image of an intimidating enforcer on the pitcher's mound.

An aspiring journalist, the 17-year old junior faces the future prospect of college and wants to stay close to home. This rules out attending Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the nation's only liberal arts university for the deaf. Poteet is interested in Cal State Northridge, near Los Angeles, which had an extensive educational program that caters to the deaf as well as a women's fast-pitch softball team.

Deaf as a result of a non-disclosed virus at birth, Poteet was also diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy. According to her dad, Mike, one of Vollstedt's assistant coaches, his daughter has overcome many hurdles to become a member of the Tokay softball program.

"There were all sorts of medical tests including a spinal tap, and Sam was misdiagnosed for her first two years," Mike Poteet said. "She couldn't sit up by herself until six months, couldn't walk until she was close to two and would fall down at least four times a day until she was five."

It hasn't always been a smooth ride for Poteet, even if she does sometimes make it look easy. While her health issues have played a major role in shaping her life, Poteet has struggled with a form of subtle social exclusion called "audism," a relatively new term to describe the often contentious relationship between deaf and hearing cultures.

Her teammates on the Tokay squad, the first to encourage and high-five her after strikeouts or a good pitching performance, rarely engage her in extended conversation in the dugout or away from the field. Instead, Poteet "speaks" with them via use of her T-Mobile Sidekick, especially Alexander, who she considers her best friend on the team.

Tokay High pitcher Sam Poteet signs with her interpreter in the dugout during a game against St. Mary's on Tuesday. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

"I've noticed hearing people saying dumb stuff and I am sure she sometimes feels excluded from things, especially socially," Alexander said. "But people don't really know her or how smart she is. I always try to include her when I hang out and stuff and our team is protective of her. She has worked so hard and given up so much to be here."

Former Lodi softball coach Robert Harmon, who now coaches at St. Mary's, knows what Alexander means.

"I remember during her freshman year when I had Poteet, her family and the team over to my house for a barbecue party and got to know her a little bit," Harmon said of watching the dynamics of the sign language and interaction process. "Sam Poteet is such an amazing person with great parents. All those girls from Tokay are just wonderful people."

To her credit, Poteet takes the high road and refuses to blame the hearing culture for any of the issues she has faced in the past or even now.

"I accept the fact that I am deaf. It's the hand I have been dealt in life," Poteet said. "It is just what I am and is a part of me. You learn to adjust."

Sam became interested in softball one day after watching her younger sister Michele play the sport.

"She nearly quit her first day of softball after suffering a bloody nose from being hit by a ball," Sharon Poteet said of her daughter. "I wouldn't let her quit and made her keep on playing. From then on, Sam began practicing for hours and days on end by herself."

With the support of her family, Poteet began gaining confidence as a player. While she still struggles with hitting and lacks speed, a former coach saw her potential as a pitcher and encouraged her to work at it.

It's that same work ethic and perseverance that has been responsible for Sam's rise on diamond, where she has over 60 strikeouts this season. It hasn't gone unnoticed. According to Mike Poteet, inside the pitcher's circle is the one place she owns on the field.

"Her pitches are really moving and breaking a lot more this year," said Deverold Horton, a prep softball umpire. "I've called some of her games in past seasons and the difference in her pitching skills and confidence on the mound from then and now is just tremendous."

Poteet's parents know that harder times await their daughter. As always, it will be a team effort in providing her with what they acknowledge as a labor of love.

"The downside is that she struggles in the hearing world socially," Mike Poteet said. "She hasn't experienced much of the deaf culture or enjoyed any support. When she was born, I remember the first reactions of other hearing people showing pity as if there was something wrong with her. We never thought of it that way and she was always happy, outgoing and so full of life that it never became an issue."

"We did teach her that she can do anything she sets her mind to. Softball has been a huge part of making her who she is now."

Softball and strength of character is what defines Sam Poteet, not her deafness.