WSL Texas Boys Player of the Year

By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

Highland Park Coach Derek Thomson often puts his players in competitive, game-like situations during practices – not only to keep things interesting but to see who reacts well under pressure.

“There are definitely some kids that want the ball in their stick with that competition or game on the line,” Thomson said.

Senior attackman Kevin Fritts was one of those players.

During the 2009 campaign, Fritts set the Highland Park single-season scoring record with 66 points on 45 goals and 21 assists. And WSL’s Texas Boys Player of the Year was at his best when it mattered most, leading the Fighting Scots to an 18-1 mark, their second straight state title and the No. 1 ranking in the Western United States.

“Kevin’s one who never shied away when the game was on the line,” Thomson said. “The bigger the game or the stage, the better he plays.”

“I just love to play the game, and especially in the big games, I get really pumped up,” said Fritts, who will continue his playing career in college at Fairfield. “I don’t know what it is; I just seem to play best when the stakes are high.”

That was particularly evident in two games this season against St. Mark’s.

In Highland Park’s 7-5 victory over St. Mark’s in the state final, Fritts scored three goals and had one assist. And in the teams’ first meeting on March 27, he was the catalyst for a comeback.

The Fighting Scots trailed 2-0 at the half – the first time in Thomson’s six-season tenure they’d been shut out in a half. But Fritts scored two of his team’s four goals in the second half to help force overtime and then, in the extra session, scored on a behind-the-back shot to win the game.

“Just an incredible play,” Thomson said.

“One of the luckiest things I’ve ever done,” Fritts said with a chuckle.

While that goal showed Fritts could score with style, he excelled more because of his substance. Fritts has an unparalleled work ethic – Thomson said that was the first thing he brought up to college recruiters – and a toughness that allowed him to play with an injury for the entire season. Fritts tore a ligament in his right thumb in the preseason but decided to forgo surgery until after the state final.

Fritts also was a standout leader and teammate, Thomson said, and that was evident when he deflected praise for his goal scoring by noting that “everyone around me really helps me out,” specifically mentioning fellow attackmen Will Ziegler and Cody Crews.

But there is no denying that when the game was on the line, Fritts was the player who needed the ball.

“He’s scored so many big goals over his two years,” Thomson said. “There are kids in sports who want the ball and kids that don’t. Kevin is certainly one who’s never shied away.”