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\u201cWithin a year, I was working at the high school as a teacher, and coach Gordon took me under his wing as an assistant coach. He showed me how rewarding both responsibilities can be when you truly give yourself to the kids. I\u2019ve been blessed to know a man like coach Gordon. He taught me how to reflect, own my mistakes, and be true to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When done well, coaching and teaching students in the classroom can have similar outcomes. According to Fritz, \u201cBoth require you to pour into people, be passionate, and focus on the growth, not the outcome. I love watching people develop grit and self-confidence to achieve in ways that surprise themselves. That carries over to the classroom with some of the difficult or hard-to-reach students. The \u2018light bulb moment\u2019 is a real thing in a good teacher\u2019s classroom; it\u2019s a lot slower than most people realize, but when it happens, it\u2019s immensely rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to sports, Fritz vividly recalled the financial struggles his single mother faced. \u201cI don\u2019t take coaching fees for the youth soccer teams that I coach. That\u2019s nine different age groups of boys and over 130 little guys that I\u2019ve coached over the past decade. I have strong opinions about affordable sports for our community and free public spaces for people to gather and play sports. It\u2019s also the same philosophy we had with the Bedford County elementary league. In trying to give as many kids the opportunity to play as possible, we even ran our camp last year for free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fritz taught history and math at SCHS for 16 years and has coached soccer for 17 years. While teaching, he also became a student, earning a master\u2019s degree in school administration from Arkansas State University in 2018. Because of the investments he continues to make in the lives of countless students, the board of education promoted him to dean of students. He faithfully served in this capacity while also teaching. The board expanded the position for the 2024-2025 school year, so Fritz now mentors full time at all three high schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is a devoted husband to his wife, Misty, and the father of three sons, Mason, Callum, and Rory. \u201cMy wife is a nurse in Lynchburg. She has been my rock, and honestly, I look up to her. She is the most optimistic and caring person I have ever known. She helps me work through the ups and downs of the coaching world. She even coached alongside me when I was coaching the girls. She will tell you that coaching has made me a better father and husband. Our three sons have lost a ton of \u2018dad time\u2019 to my coaching, but I try to make it up as much as I can. I think people generally just take for granted the sacrifices that come with pouring yourself out in coaching kids that aren\u2019t yours. It truly must be a calling on your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a teacher, Chris believed in the value of academics, and as a coach, he models the importance of teamwork and physical exercise to his players. But as someone who looks at the greater picture, he knows every athlete must be well-rounded, capable, and mature adults. To achieve this, every player becomes a mentor through the Cooper Steel Twelve\/Twelve Reading Program or by volunteering during elementary league practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost of the boys go way above and beyond in helping with that league. We have some of our boys that show up every Saturday to support their favorite player.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fritz\u2019s motto is: \u201cDo the work others won\u2019t and that you dread. Never be satisfied.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WHILE HIS mother earned a nursing degree from Motlow State Community College and worked full time to support her family, Chris Fritz watched with silent admiration. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget waking up at night when I was in elementary school and seeing her studying or doing homework,\u201d recalled Fritz. \u201cShe worked her tail off to provide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":24078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/08\/3-1-1024x683.jpg\")