About
HISTORY
Louis Schmitz
The Farmington Youth Hockey Association was founded by Louis Schmitz in 1954. Louis had just moved to Farmington and noticed there was not an organized program for kids to play hockey. He rounded up some players who were hanging around the rink and went to White Bear Lake to play the first organized game for FYHA. Farmington lost that day but Louis persevered with many volunteers to build the foundation of the Farmington Youth Hockey Association.
Schmitz started Farmington's first girls hockey team in 1965, 30 years before the sport was recognized by the Minnesota State High School League. He continued to coach girls teams at several levels over the years. He was inducted into the Women's Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
His vision and determination have provided an opportunity for thousands of Farmington area kids to play organized competitive hockey. Louis Schmitz passed away December 30, 2011, and his memory lives on through the Louis Schmitz Foundation and the Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic.
Louis Schmitz

Alfred Maki

In 1959, Alfred Maki became the first high school hockey coach in Farmington, Mn. After 25 years, he retired from teaching and coaching in 1984, but still volunteered in the hockey program for many years. There is still an annual Al Maki winter holiday hockey tournament there. He worked as goal judge for the former WHA team, The Minnesota Fighting Saints, in the early 1970s. During his career, he was the president of the Minnesota High School Hockey Association and of the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches. Among his many accomplishments, in 1981, he was awarded the Cliff Thompson Award given for "long term outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey in Minnesota." In 1991, he was inducted into the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2005, the ice rink in Farmington, Mn was re-named the Schmitz-Maki arena in his honor. It was named for the men, "who were instrumental for the birth and growth of youth hockey in the Farmington area".