Senior Mason Fritz was just going into middle school as he sat on one of the long silver rows of Grand Haven bleachers and breathed in hot humid air. An overwhelming smell of chlorine filled the room. As Fritz sat and watched his brother compete in his water polo games, he was inspired to follow in his footsteps. Fritz put his heart into becoming the player he is today. With endless nights of lifting and driving near and far for cub practice Fritz landed a spot on the varsity team as a freshman, and has continued to be a strong positive leader all four years, two of those years as captain.

“Everything he does, he does it with the intention of putting the team first,” senior Grant Ruster said. “He makes things happen, we can all work really well with him. He’s the heart of the team.”

While being a part of the team, Fritz has been awarded All-State 1st team, All- Region 1st team and All-Conference. Fritz also participated in swimming but as time went on he decided he needed to put all of his energy into water polo.

“I decided to quit swimming after freshman year to focus on water polo,” Fritz said. “You work different muscles and instead of swimming I decided to do weight lifting to help build up the specific muscles to help me with my game.”

When the school season is over, club season begins. Fritz has played on several club teams among many other Grand Haven Water-polo players including Ruster.  Fritz was granted the opportunity to participate in the Junior Olympics held in California which has increased his skill and created strong memories such as playing in the Stanford pool for a few games.

When Fritz was in 7th grade he was apart of a club team located in East Lansing, then one in Rockford. These clubs helped Fritz learn the proper rules of the game and keep him in shape during the off season. For the past couple of years Fritz has been playing for a club team in California which he spends a month in a half there training during the summer. With his parents support he was able to take advantage of these opportunities.

“My parents have been with me every step of the way,” Fritz said. “They’ll give me feedback but they won’t give me too much which is nice. If I ask them to they won’t hold back.”

The team can always count on Fritz when it comes to the intense in-game moments. He brings the team together, as he knows more about water polo than most people.

“He understands the game and where other players are long before they do,” Hamm said. “He is not afraid of anything or anybody.”

Teammates including Ruster can count on Fritz to give 100 percent every game.

“I’ll be swimming down one side of the pool with Mason swimming down the other, i’ll look at him and he’ll look at me, I’ll fake to shoot and then i’ll pass to him instead then he’ll score.” Ruster said.

Not only does Fritz strive on improving his performance during games, He’s a quiet, determined leader that uses his caring personality to help improve his teammates performance as well as his coaches.

“Mason and I have a teacher and student relationship where sometimes either of us can be the teacher and either of us can be the student.” Hamm said. “We’re both willing to learn from each other.”

As senior year comes to an end, it is only the beginning for the four year adventure Fritz has to come as he hopes to walk on The University of Michigan’s club water polo team. Even with all the individual attention, Fritz is mostly proud of being a great teammate.

“I don’t want to be remembered as an individual,” Mason said. “I want my teammates to remember us as the team that went to States.”

One can learn the skills, but the personality is something that can’t be taught. Wherever Fritz ends up he is going to have a positive impact on his community.

“Mason is the kind of guy a dad would like to have his daughter around.,” Hamm said. “And he shows other people what a good young man should be. He is a pleasure to coach and a pleasure to watch grow as a young man.