John’s Journal: The High School Athlete Who Owns A Construction Company

Caden Fritz is a busy young man. The senior at Edina High School is a center on the Hornets hockey team, and combining a varsity sport with schoolwork seems like enough to keep almost every day filled.

But not for Caden.

“I kind of have too many interests,” said the 18-year-old. “I'm always going somewhere, I'm not the kind of kid to sit at home.”

No kidding. He goes to school, he plays hockey for one of the state’s storied programs, and … there’s no way to explain it other than this: Caden owns a construction company that he built from scratch.

When he’s on the ice at Edina’s Braemar Arena and the student section chants “Fritz Construction!” it’s an ode to Caden’s focus away from school and hockey. He drives a truck to school with the Fritz Construction logo on the side, and he can also be seen wearing apparel with the same logo. His company (fritz-construction.com) is licensed, bonded and insured, and Caden is a licensed general contractor.

On the ice, he has played in all 21 games for the Hornets this season, with one goal and six assists. Off the ice, his work ethic is amazing. His first business venture was lemonade stands as a youngster, and later he built and sold a vending-machine business. He also made money as a hockey referee when he wasn’t playing, and sold referee apparel and equipment on the side.

In the summer of 2020 he started a pressure-washing business that specialized in cleaning decks. After customers asked if he could also sand and stain their decks, he created a company called Fritz Deck Restoration.

“I did that for that whole summer and made quite a bit of money, fixing decks, sanding and staining them,” he said.

He moved into construction in the fall of 2020, building new decks at first. Then came minor remodels, including laundry rooms, bathrooms and finishing basements.

“It started off small,” Caden said.

Things heated up in 2021 when he and his employees built more than 60 decks, as well as some large-scale home additions and renovations. As spring weather nears, Caden’s company is preparing for work that includes decks, homes, roofing and siding, and commercial and residential excavation.

Once again, he is only 18 years old.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” said Ben Gross, 21, who is on track to graduate later this year with a degree in applied economics from the University of Minnesota. Caden calls Ben his right-hand man, because Gross handles much of the day-to-day business operations, including meeting with clients and managing projects.

Ben’s first contact with Caden came when his parents contacted Caden about building a deck after they saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace.

“He gave them an awesome quote and said he could have it done by the end of the month,” said Ben, a graduate of Orono High School. “They met, went over the quote, and my mom was a little skeptical. She said, ‘He’s in high school but it sounds like he knows what he’s doing.’ ”

Ben ended up helping out the crew that did the work, and he and Caden became friends. Before long, Ben was working for Fritz Construction.

“I kind of oversee all the projects,” Ben said. “He’ll get a quote and we’ll talk about what it would entail, the costs, the timeline. I try to handle applying for permits and help on the operations side of things.

“His buddies say he’s had a knack for this since he was a kid, doing carnivals for kids in the neighborhood. Then he sold his vending machine company for a fair chunk of change. His work ethic is tenacious, he’s a dynamo. He never stops. I played varsity lacrosse in high school and I can’t imagine doing what he’s doing.”

Caden is the oldest of three children of Rob and Stephanie Fritz. His parents work in the corporate world.

“We’re not in construction,” Stephanie said with a chuckle.  

In all of Caden’s business ventures, he has done everything on his own financially.

“We never gave him a dime,” said Stephanie. “I think back to his lemonade stands, when we made him pay for everything himself. He’s just wired that way.

“He doesn’t sleep. He loves life. Nobody has more fun than Caden. With a business comes pressure and issues, and he knows how to enjoy himself but he really works for it. He thinks big. He’s not afraid to try and fail.”

The Edina hockey team has a record of 13-8 with four games remaining in the regular season. This is Caden’s first year on the varsity and he’s having the time of his life.

“My line’s doing really well and I've been really focusing on hockey,” he said. “I’ve got my whole life to work and I enjoy it but you're never going to get to play hockey in Edina with a good team like this ever again.”

During peak times last summer, Fritz Construction employed more than 30 people on any given day. In the summer of 2022, Caden is hoping that number might increase to 55 or 60. But he also likes to have fun with his buddies, including those who work for him.

“I'm still in high school and I like hanging out with my friends every night,” he said. “So we'll start working around five in the morning and most days get done around two o'clock. And then we go to the lake (Minnetonka) pretty much every single day. A lot of times we go to my family’s cabin on weekends and have a lot of fun. We definitely work really hard but we have a lot of fun in the process.”

Deck construction has continued throughout this winter, with the boss swinging a hammer when he can.

“I'll get out there every once in a while on a Sunday and or after school for a few hours and help out, get my hands dirty,” he said.

Caden is hoping to buy his own cabin up north, either purchasing an empty lot and building a cabin or purchasing a fixer-upper. His story is even more remarkable when he tells you that he didn’t even know how to operate a drill four years ago. But he’s curious and never intimidated.

In 2018, using tools that had belonged to his late grandfather and watching instructional YouTube videos, he built a shed at the family cabin to store four-wheelers. It took him all summer.

“It wasn't stellar, but it still stands today,” he said. “Now I can do anything from painting a house to building a house.”

As if he isn’t busy enough, Caden is also training as an Emergency Medical Technician. He has spent time working in a hospital setting and is interested in possibly working with a fire department or law enforcement. He has interviewed with two sheriff’s departments for part-time EMT work.

He plans to attend the University of St. Thomas in the fall to study criminal justice, possibly becoming an attorney and/or going into law enforcement.

Asked what he will be doing in 10 years, he replied, “I guess if you asked me today and then tomorrow, I might have 10 different choices.”

And yes, he’s only 18 years old.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org