Maryland Love Connection: Max & Abigail Schmidt

As Maryland students trickled into the lecture hall for another day of Spanish class, Max Schmidt took his seat just a few rows behind a young lady. Little did he know, less than two years later he would marry her. 

It was back in January of 2010 when Max described his initial glimpse of this mystery girl as ‘amor a primera vista’ --  love at first sight. The junior lacrosse player made it his mission to sit near the striking young woman who would introduce herself as Abigail Adams. 

Abigail was an athlete in her own right, a star gymnast who grew up just outside of Houston, Texas. Since she was a little girl tumbling on her living room floor, Abigail aspired to be a gymnast. 

Max grew up watching Maryland Lacrosse from his Columbus, Ohio, family home, and always knew that one day, he wanted to be a Terp just like fellow Columbus natives (and fellow Upper Arlington High School alums) Chris Rhine, Brett Harper and Gavin Webb, despite growing up in Buckeye country. 

Max lived out his childhood dream and joined the Terps lacrosse team in 2007, the same year Abigail fell in love with the Maryland Gymnastics family. Both committed to Maryland and started their collegiate journeys. 

Abigail emerged as a star all-around competitor for Maryland. The two-time team MVP was dominant in a variety of different gymnastics events. She was the top performer for the team in bars, beam, and all-around throughout her tenure. Abigail’s career was highlighted by an EAGL championship on the bars in 2009 and in the all-around in 2010. 

Both Abigail and Max had demanding in-season schedules with recurring practices, travel, games and meets. With gymnastics being a winter sport and lacrosse taking place in the spring, the pair were able to support one another through their respective seasons.

“As student-athletes I feel like your paths cross a lot, so we were able to see each other as much as we could,” said Abigail. “On the weekends we tried to be at as many of each other’s sports events as we could and then if we couldn’t obviously it was because it was when somebody was out of town.”

As the couple started dating, they invested hours of time into one another, and to learn each other’s sports. Max raved about the skill and athleticism necessary to be a gymnast, watching the meets in-person provided him a newfound appreciation of the sport. The more he watched gymnastics the more he fell in love with it. He hyped up Abigail for all her accolades as he remembered his fondest memory watching her perform. 

“It was pretty awesome to be able to watch her win the conference two years in a row, that was something I’ll definitely remember,” said Max. “To see her go out on top of her conference was pretty special.”

While Abigail flipped, tumbled and rolled to success, Max was dominating on the lacrosse field as a three-year starter. He was a stout defender leading to All-ACC honors in his sophomore year and USILA All-America accolades as a senior. The Terrapins lacrosse team had another great run in Max’s senior year capped by winning the ACC championship for the first time since 2005, advancing to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2006 and appearing in the NCAA championship game appearance for the first time since 1998.

Abigail first experienced lacrosse at Maryland and loved the atmosphere and crowds. She reminisced about Max’s senior-season run that finished with the Terps winning the conference championship.

“Watching them go into the postseason and play all the playoff games was an unbelievable experience and so fun,” Abigail recalled. “I kind of knew at the time this was the highlight of his NCAA career, so just to be able to go through that with him and experience that with him and the atmosphere of all of East Coast lacrosse coming around to watch these final games was so much fun.”

While at Maryland, the dynamic duo combined for three conference titles, two team MVPs, All-ACC honors, All-American honor and two degrees.

But the relationship wasn’t always easy and nearly didn’t continue. “I told Max that I didn't want to date him because it wasn't the right time in my life,” said Abigail. “And then we were engaged the same year. I sure love this guy.” 

Sure enough, on Christmas Eve in 2010, after dating for less than one year, Max proposed. The couple tied the knot in August of 2011 in a beach-side wedding in the Carribean.

The newlywed’s athletic careers, much like their relationship, went on strong after college.

Abigail fulfilled a childhood dream to join the Cirque du Soleil while Max was drafted into Major League Lacrosse. The newlywed couple dealt with the physical separation and busy schedules but continued to lean on the trust and support they built early on in their relationship. Both were fully supportive of each other’s dreams knowing these were rare opportunities to further pursue them. 

“I knew that Abbey had dreamt about doing Cirque du Soleil and I had dreamt about playing lacrosse at the highest level too,” Max explained. “That was something we both supported each other in.

“We were fulfilling dreams. We were young, had no children and it was a really fun way to live our twenties and just adventure.” 

Max went on to play in 63 Major League Lacrosse games between 2012-2016 for the Ohio Machine and Denver Outlaws. In 2016, Max and the Denver Outlaws won the Major League Lacrosse championship.

After his playing career, Max co-founded Lacrosse Force Nevada, a lacrosse coaching company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is also the Director of Athletic Performance and Lacrosse Coach at Faith Lutheran Middle School and High School. 

Abigail continued to flourish as a flyer for the Cirque du Soleil: O water-themed production. She fulfilled her dreams and traveled across the world as a performer.

The couple moved to Las Vegas in 2014 where they still reside today. Max and Abigail have now been happily married for nine years and continue to love and support one another. 

In 2016, they welcomed their first daughter Winnie, followed by their son Ezekiel in 2018. As the Schmidt family doubled in size, Max and Abigail have placed their focus on ensuring a wonderful life for their kids. 

They continue to fall back to the principles of sports that have opened up so much success in their lives. The unity, commitment, enthusiasm, and discipline in sports have been a guide to their parenting formula.  

Max referenced his Terrapin lacrosse experience as a helpful lesson for parenting.

“Our slogan at Maryland was ‘Be the Best’ and I think it’s a slogan that doesn’t just transcend lacrosse and being part of a team, it transcends every aspect of life,” said Max. “It's said at our home a lot. We want to be the best parents we can be.”

Abigail refers to Max as the coach of the family as she praises him for leading their family.

And of course, that sports spirit has rubbed off on their two kids. Their 4-year-old daughter, Winnie, definitely has that competitive drive as she will not accept that a classmate is faster than her at school. While for their 2-year-old son, Zeke, he recently ran out onto the field eager to join middle school lacrosse practice. Abigail described their children in the most fitting way. 

“A lot of it also has to do with how they were born, and they’re a lot like their mom and dad. And yeah it’s a gift that you have kids that carry your traits because you get to see yourself in them and that’s really special.”

The University of Maryland provided both Max and Abigail the opportunity to earn degrees and capitalize on athletic careers. Most importantly, Maryland brought them lots of amor, as they continue their lasting relationship raising a new generation of Terps.