Sophomore Ryder Franich — a member of the JV boys basketball team at La Salle — began his basketball career when he was seven, playing for the North Clackamas Parks & Recreation Hoopers Basketball League. 

Growing up with a dad who used to play basketball, Franich said he was always encouraged to play sports and push himself to his fullest potential. Before his time at La Salle, Franich immersed himself in other basketball programs, such as Extra Pass Basketball.

Going into high school basketball, Franich realized that it’s “a lot more serious, and you want to do good because it’s a lot more important for if you want to get scouted,” he said.

Franich started his freshman year at La Salle playing on JV2, where he built connections, confidence, and the skills that allowed him to land a spot on JV this season. He said that he believes this season will be “better than last year, because we all kind of know our own roles.”

With so many familiar teammates coming from JV2 last year, Franich appreciates the settled-in feeling the team has coming into the 2025-26 season.

While he appreciates the familiarity of his teammates, he said the change in coaches from JV2 to JV made him “excited for the season.”

Franich’s basketball career currently carries lots of routine. From starting every practice with “warm ups, ball handling, shooting,” Franich gets to practice repetition of skills which has allowed him to feel confident and find personal strengths in his passing and ball control abilities.

Outside of practice, Franich finds routine in his pregame rituals which normally consist of listening to rap music — including artists like Drake or NBA YoungBoy.

During the basketball season, Franich finds it hard to balance his school workload with basketball, as well as spending quality time with friends and family.

To combat this stress, Franich said he prioritizes finding a “quiet place to study or get homework done in between practices,” which usually ends up with him working in his dad’s office, a space which allows him to stay focused and accomplish goals in a quiet setting before getting ready for practice. 

On top of the space his dad’s office provides, his parents play a big role in the success Franich has found.

Franich appreciates his parents for “always [taking] me to wherever I needed to be at whatever time,” he said. “They would give up whatever they were doing at the time just to let me go somewhere, try to go get extra shots up or practice or whatever it is.”

When Franich started this season, he had ambition to earn a starting spot on JV this year, and plans to accomplish that by “playing really hard in practices and doing the best that I can in games,” he said.

Franich doesn’t just have personal goals for the season — he finds success in the team’s success. He hopes that this year they can improve their record, have fun, and most importantly have the hard work they put in be reflected in their season’s outcome.

While Franich does have a lot of school ahead of him here at La Salle, some inspiration he wished he had heard when he started high school was to “stay focused on my grades,” he said. “Not to jump to only playing basketball.”