Fairfax Ice Arena has hosted adult recreational hockey for over twenty years.  There have always been at least three different leagues of varying abilities, but originally none of them was suitable for beginners to the sport of ice hockey.  By 1992 the rink managers began to notice a significant number of highly interested potential recreational players who needed instruction in the basic skills of the sport before they could easily fit into the competitive leagues.  Fairfax Ice Arena began a hockey school for beginners of all ages.  This school (sometimes called a "clinic.") continues today.  but there was also a need for organized team play for the beginning players.

   Therefore, in the 1993-94 winter season Fairfax Ice Arena established an instructional league.  In this league a coach gave one half hour of intensive training before a one-hour game.  Significantly, the Fairfax beginners league became the only adult hockey program in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area offering both regular instruction and scheduled competition.  The only requirements for membership were basic skating abilities and minimum safety equipment.  A typical winter season included about 22 games and a spring playoff series with trophy awards for each player of the team winning the playoffs.  The Fairfax Senators were one of the original teams in this instructional league.

   Other rinks in the area soon followed the lead of Fairfax Ice Arena and established similar programs.

   After occasional substitute coaching during the first season, I became the Senators' coach in March 1994.  The team, already well-trained and in good spirits, did well that season.  The following season, 1994-95, the Fairfax Senators won the league championship in a double-elimination playoff.

   Most of the players, encouraged by their success, moved up to the next higher league for the 1995 summer season, making room for many new players.  In the fall of 1995 several additional new players joined the team, making the 1995-96 Senators a new and building team.  Enthusiastic learning and continuous improvement brought them into the playoffs with everything coming together just right.  After losing the first playoff game in the double-elimination final tournament, they won four in a row to gain the final playoff spot against the first-place team.  The 1995-96 Senators ended up in second place, but only after forcing a third playoff game by winning one of the two scheduled finals.  In the final game they held to a tie until well into the third period.  This blaze-of-glory finale greatly encouraged the players, and most of them returned for the next winter season.

   The Senators had a few personnel changes for the 1996 summer season, among whom were a group of five roller hockey players who had never played ice hockey.  Well, we learned right away that roller hockey is excellent training for ice hockey.  The summer 1996 Senators dominated the league with better than a .75 season.  We all learned a lot from them and had a great time that summer.

   Continuing to grow and gain maturity in the 1996-97 winter season the Senators finished second overall for the season and did well in the playoffs.  This was a year of building skills and strength, as well as forging well-coordinated team play.  Team spirit remained high and they made continued progress throughout the season.  They were again a threat to the first place team in the playoffs, which now were single-elimination, but lost a game in the early rounds.  They learned a lot and had a lot of fun.  By all measures, the 1996-97 season was a great success.

   The 1997-98 season began well with a series of wins.  Then a long slump made the team feel they had completely lost the edge.  But winning ways returned in the second half.  The 1997-98 Senators approached the playoffs with all individual and team skills and coordination coming to a peak.  The most difficult game was the semi-final, which they won only in the last seconds.  Buoyed by this most significant feat, they went on to win the final series (two out of three).

   This season also marked the departure of our faithful and hard-working goaltender due to a broken eye socket suffered in a basketball game.  Unfortunately, he later discovered a heart problem requiring surgery that forced his retirement from hockey.

   Once again many of the players of the championship team moved up to the next higher league, which is really the whole purpose of the instructional league.  So the 1998-99 (new) Senators were once again a team building their individual and team skills.  For the summer 2000 season about half the Senators moved on to the Masters' league, so the Senators picked up some some more new talent with speed, good shots, and high enthusiasm.

   The team membership remained fairly stable over the next four years.  They worked well together, learned together, and developed team awareness on the ice.  By the beginning of the 2004-2005 season the Senators were a strong and reliable hockey team.  The playoff format had evolved to single elimination during the preliminary rounds, so there was little room for error.  The Senators came through the preliminaries and found themselves once again in the best of three final series.  They won one and lost one to force a third game.  Incredibly, the third game went to a tie, and then overtime.  The overtime was scoreless.  The Senators won the shootout.

    I retired from my profession and moved to another state, so this was my last game as coach of the Fairfax Senators.  Going out on a championship was a great way to do it.

    It was a wonderful experience bringing people into the wonderful world of ice hockey.  I take special pride in the large number of former Senators who have successfully moved on to the higher competitive levels.  I thank each and every player on the team over the years 1993-2005 for all their hard work and boundless enthusiasm and for putting up with my rantings and ravings.  It's been a true pleasure.

Don Wilkins
Former Coach, Fairfax Senators