Dealing with diabetes

Five times a day, South Park assistant coach Marty Rieck does something that could save his life.

He lives with a disease that kills an average of one American every three minutes and results in more adult blindness than anything. Rieck is a Type 1 diabetic.

"I know people might not believe this," he said. "But if I had an opportunity to go back and change it, I wouldn't do it. It set me up to be the person that I am."

Rieck provides a different form of motivation for the Eagles these days as a coach, rather than a hard-hitting safety for the school's 1997 PIAA championship team.

The second-year assistant coach will be on the sidelines when South Park (12-0) plays No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic (11-0) at 1:30 p.m., Saturday at Heinz Field in the WPIAL Class AA final.

"Seeing what he's been through inspires the whole team," South Park senior free safety Shane Eckels said. "He has it pretty bad -- or it seems to me like he does -- but all of us see that. We see what he goes through, and we look up to him for that."

Rieck, 25, takes five injections a day -- at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and twice before going to sleep. He must watch his meals and monitor his sleep.

"Overall, you can live a normal lifestyle," he said. "But you have to have a mindset where you look long term. If you don't, it's going to kill you."

Rieck was diagnosed with the disease nearly seven years ago to the day. He went from a returning starter on a WPIAL champion football team to finding out he had an incurable disease that affects about one million Americans.

Rieck, who coaches the defensive backs at South Park, said living with diabetes has made him a more patient, understanding teacher and coach.

"It gives you a different perspective," he said. "It might sound like a cliche, but it opens your eyes to what's important and what matters.

"It makes you look at people different. You're not sure what people are going through. You try to treat people with fairness and respect. That's the good thing about it."

Nothing was good about the symptoms, which set in about seven weeks into his senior season at South Park. He drank a gallon jug of water in one 50-minute class. He lost 35 pounds in one week.

"I knew I was sick," he said. "I didn't want to get checked out because I knew something was wrong."

When Rieck went from 180 to 145 pounds in a week, his parents literally dragged him to the hospital.

"At that point, it was, 'Holy hell,' " he said.

He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, by far the most serious form of the incurable disease. Complications can cause everything from blindness to kidney failure.

Rieck missed one game -- the first of his life -- but returned for the first-round WPIAL playoff loss to Waynesburg. The offers from Division I-AA schools dried up, and Rieck settled for D-II Mercyhurst, where he played four years.

"There's not a stronger guy," said former South Park linebacker Brian Guzek, a four-year letterwinner at Pitt. "Even to see him today, he's amazing."

Rieck returned to help coach his alma mater last year as a volunteer assistant. He was promoted to defensive backs coach this season. The Eagles have 20 interceptions as a team.

South Park coach Tom Loughran said Rieck never complains or misses a game or practice.

"He is an accountable type of kid who is committed to the team, as a coach, just as he was as a player," said Loughran, who was Rieck's high school coach.

Loughran said he knows Rieck, a freshman social studies teacher at South Park, spends a lot of time at school.

"I know he has probably had to make adjustments, because there are times we are on the field for three hours. There are times he has to get his medicine, but he goes and does that and comes right back. He doesn't want to miss anything."

Meanwhile, he has gained the respect of his players.

"He knows what he's talking about," said Eckels, who has a team-high with seven interceptions. "We trust him."

Rieck could have stayed in Erie after graduating from Mercyhurst. He had some offers to help coach at Class AAAA McDowell. When the call came from South Park, he returned to his alma mater.

"Looking back," he said, "this is the way it was supposed to be."

Additional Information:

Greensburg Central Catholic vs. South Park

When : 1:30 p.m., Saturday

Where : Heinz Field

Tickets : $4 student; $10 adult, at gate

TV : FSN Pittsburgh

Fast fact : This is the ninth time since 1980 two undefeated teams have played in the WPIAL finals.