Katie Fiso needs no introduction at Garfield. A girls’ basketball living legend, she was instrumental in the last two of the team’s three consecutive state championship titles. She puts tremendous time and effort into her beloved sport, going to the gym very early– “I’ll say 6am”– before every school day to get practice shots in. She is not only a Garfield celebrity but is also one of the top high school prospects in the country, currently committed to continue her basketball journey for the Oregon Ducks next year.
Unfortunately, being a basketball star involves a wider emotive range than post-win highs and adulation from fans. “Being me, there’s just this pressure around always having to be great,” Fiso said. As one of six siblings who play basketball, “everyone is always telling me you have to be the best one, you have to be the greatest one.” The weight of expectations and pressure makes it hard for Fiso to live the life of a normal teenage girl. “I remember I missed like half the summer, with all these camps. And it was my last summer here… Dang,” she said, “I wanted to go to Purple and White last year but I couldn’t.”
Fiso understands, however, what it takes to achieve a long-term goal. “I know that the sacrifices I’m making right now are for a greater cause, for the future,” Fiso said, “I always say that consistency and sacrifice are what make people great.”
The shadow of fame can make it complicated for her to know who she can lean on and turn to for guidance. “I always have to ask myself, like, do you want to be my friend or do you just want to be my friend because of where I’m at right now?”
Fiso also used to struggle a lot with disappointing games. “I would doubt myself and just ask, ‘Do I really want to be doing this?’” Fiso wondered. Eventually, she found solace by turning to God. “I know that once I build my relationship with God, He’s giving me that confidence,” Fiso said. “I see a lot of basketball players who are so fixated on the idea of having a certain number [rank] next to their name. But with the relationship I am building with God, He tells me it’s OK no matter what. I’ll always be valuable to Him. God sees me as more than a basketball player.” Fiso herself also adopts this big-picture perspective. “That’s the thing about me,” said Fiso. “Like, I love basketball. Trust me, I love basketball, but it’s not everything for me. Over time I just grew to realize that this isn’t all there is to life, one day the basketball is going to stop dribbling.”
Insights like these are what she’s trying to impart to the younger generation. “You’re more than just a basketball player,” Fiso said. “You’re more than just the number beside your name. You’re you, and there are other things that make you who you are.” For Fiso, these things include watching anime, drumming on the drumline, and playing chess. “And I want to do all these other things too. I want to learn how to play piano, and I want to play the trumpet, and just all these things that I don’t have time for now.”
For her teammates, Fiso is motivated to be the positive influence that she admits she didn’t always have, on and off the court. “It was really hard for me, but that’s why I just want to be that support for them.” Fiso has great confidence in the Garfield basketball team, especially after she leaves for Oregon next year. “We have a pretty solid team this year,” said Fiso, “and we have a lot of young people on the team too, so I think we’ll be even better next year.”
Garfield will be sad to see Fiso graduate, but it’s the legacy she is leaving behind that will live on in the school and inspire generations to come. “At the end of the day, I’m just Katie,” Fiso reminds us. “You know, who happens to play basketball and is pretty good at it.”
