A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Schmalz is a graduate of Quincy College, in Quincy, Illinois, where he played on the school's first intercollegiate team in 1964 and was a member of the 1966 team that won the first of Quincy's record eleven NAIA National Championships.[2][3][4]
Following his graduation from Quincy, Schmalz was a physical education instructor at the University of Wyoming before becoming an assistant coach at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. After three seasons, he was named Davis & Elkins' head coach in 1973, and in six seasons, led the team to a record of 91–21–5[5] and six NAIA tournaments, including a second-place finish in 1974.[4]
In 1979, Schmalz was named the third head coach of the University of Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Indiana. In eight seasons as an independent, seven as a member of the Midwestern City/Midwestern Collegiate Conference, and nine as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Schmalz' Purple Aces teams built a record of 302–165–49, won six conference tournaments (5 MCC, 1 MVC), and advanced to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship eleven times, including nine years in a row from 1984 through 1992, with third-place finishes in the NCAA College Cup in 1985 and 1990.[6][7] Among the players Schmalz mentored at Evansville were 13 All-Americans, 17 Academic All-Americans, and 31 who went on to play professionally.[5]
In addition to his collegiate coaching, Schmalz was a U.S. Soccer Federation national staff coach and coached in six Olympic Sports Festivals.[8]
Although "retired," Schmalz has continued to work with youth soccer in Evansville.