Beating Diabetes Odessa’S Floch Treating Disease Like A Fact Of Life

Ryan Floch doesn’t think of himself as a basketball player with diabetes.

To Floch and his family, the diabetes is just a fact of life, not a defining factor.

Floch would say he’s a basketball player, period, a 6-foot-6 Bi-County all-leaguer with a college basketball future on his mind.

“Every year that he’s played basketball, he’s controlled (the disease) better,” said Ryan’s mother, Jewell. “We want people to know that kids with diabetes can play basketball.”

Floch’s Odessa Tigers return one of the better teams from last year’s State B Tournament. Eight players are back from the fifth-place finishers. Odessa was the lone team to give fits to eventual champion Chief Leschi.

Floch’s senior group, numbering six, has been tight for several years. The other five boys are aware of Floch’s diabetes and have learned to watch for telltale signs that trouble is at hand.

Just in case, they have made a habit of accompanying Floch when he’s walking down stairs.

Senior Scott Kramer, son of Tigers coach Myron Kramer, once fetched his dad at school when Floch was having a rare bad incident.

“Ryan was fogged up,” Myron Kramer said. “He’d put his shoes on the wrong feet. He went almost unconscious.”

Kramer repeats the story not because it’s typical of what Floch has been through, but to illustrate the kindness and attentiveness the other teammates show.

For the most part, Floch controls his diabetes with proper diet and four insulin shots per day. He eats a candy bar before games or during halftime to regulate his blood sugar.

The Flochs started suspecting that something was wrong with Ryan in fifth grade. Floch’s grandfather, now 75, was diabetic, so the family had a notion of what Ryan would encounter day to day.

When Ryan’s younger brother, Drew, began experiencing the same symptoms four years ago - headaches, drinking excess fluids, flush feelings - the family was more prepared for the news.

“He has the same type that I do,” Floch said. “I think it was easier for him to take care of himself by watching me over the years. He has the same routine, four shots per day.”

The Flochs came to Odessa from Valleyford 16 years ago when Clay Floch was offered ownership in a local auto parts business.

Clay, 2 inches shorter than his son, had played basketball at Freeman with Steve Altmeyer, current Valley Christian boys coach. VC placed second in the State B last year and should vie with Odessa for this year’s league title.

Jewell Floch’s father, a pastor, helped to create Valley Christian School.

The religious background provided a foundation as the Flochs tackled the diseases of Ryan and Drew.

“You can make the best out of something or the worst out of something,” Jewell said. “And our kids have chosen to make the best.”

Ryan has talked to Eastern Washington, Whitworth and Seattle Pacific regarding college ball. He said putting on weight and working on his jump shot are top concerns in preparation for college.

Odessa opens league play Friday at Liberty. The Tigers are 1-1 in non-league play after a win over Class B Columbia and a loss to 2A Deer Park.

“We started talking about basketball as soon as we got done with last year,” Kramer said. “The kids are really looking forward to improving on what we did last year.”

BI-COUNTY BASKETBALL Defending champions: Boys - Wilbur-Creston, West Division; Valley Christian, East Division. Girls Ritzville, West Division; Sprague-Harrington, East Division. State placers: Ritzville girls, first; Valley Christian boys, second; Wilbur-Creston girls, second; Odessa boys, fifth; Sprague-Harrington girls, sixth. All-league returners: First team boys - Dustan Arlt, Ritzville; Ryan Floch, Odessa. First team girls - Alyssa Erickson, Wilbur-Creston; Megan Yerxa, Ritzville. Second team boys - Joe Bell, Christian Heritage; Jeremy Engle, Liberty. Second team girls - Amy Fitch, Ritzville; Nicole Hunt, Odessa. Change: Divisional play has been scrapped; each team will play every other team twice. Friday’s openers: Almira/CouleeHartline at Valley Christian; Davenport vs. Sprague-Harrington at Harrington; Odessa at Liberty; Wilbur-Creston at Ritzville; Christian Heritage at Lind (boys only).