Our History
The Soar Tennis Academy was launched in the summer of 2020 by Coach Matt Swigart with locations in Cottage Grove and at the University of Northwestern. That first season being the COVID summer saw many kids come and give tennis a try for the first time. It was a great experience for all!
Now in year 3, the focus has shifted from running our own locations to creating partnerships with local communities and associations. Soar has become more of a mobile tennis academy where our coaches come and run the kids programming wherever our partnerships call. We celebrate Hudson Tennis Association, St. Anthony Community Ed, Mounds View Community Ed, and South Washington County Community Ed for being our first partners!
Soar continues to draw great coaches and wonderful players to work with! We look forward to moving and making more history!
Meet Matt, Our Founder
Matt Swigart is a USPTA certified teaching pro, and has been coaching and teaching tennis since 2013 as the Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at the University of Northwestern - St. Paul where he has become UNW's all time winningest tennis coach. Along with leading the teams Matt also has run summer tennis camps on campus for students of all ages.
Other coaching accomplishments include winning 6 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Championships, earning 5 NCAA National Tournament berths and 3 NCCAA National Tournaments. His teams have won 5 UMAC Sportsmanship Awards. In that time over 75 UNW players have been named UMAC All-Conference, 7 have been named UMAC Player of the Year and 15 have earned NCCAA All-American honors. Finally, he has been named UMAC Coach of the Year 7 times.
Coach Matt is excited to launch the Soar Tennis Academy as it is another avenue to leverage his background as a player, coach and youth pastor and will allow him and his team of coaches to effectively leverage teaching the game of tennis to invest in young men and women who grow in skill and character.
Soar Welcomes Chad Forde, Director of Operations
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Chad Forde has over 8 years of HS coaching experience in MN, CO and WI. As head boys coach of Minneapolis Edison High School he took the program from six players to over 30 in his first year and was awarded 2013 Section 6A Coach of the Year and was nominated for 2013 MN State Coach of the Year. While at Rangeview High School in Aurora, CO, he led the Lady Raiders to their first ever East Metro Athletic Conference title while only losing three dual matches in two years! He was awarded EMAC Coach of the Year in 2016. As the Head Girls Coach of River Falls High School in WI, Chad helped turn a program around that had not won over five matches in a season in the 21st century to setting a school record of 15-5 in 2019. Coach Chad currently teaches at Eagan HS and coaches on a part time basis with the Eagan Wildcat program in order to spend as much time as possible with his wife, Sarah, and three children Ethan, Olin, and Freya.
CJ, Director of Finance
Testimonials
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"Even when I have a hard day, I know that going to tennis will brighten my day. Matt has helped me to grow as a tennis player, in my life, and in my faith." -Bryna
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“Since starting lessons with Coach Matt I've seen myself grow not only as a tennis player but also as a person.”– Katie S.
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“Matt of Soar Tennis has been such a help to my daughter.... He has been ever so flexible... I'm so happy we connected..." - Jessica
C.J. Lloyd joins Soar Tennis with a strong history in both tennis, and business. In addition to having been a certified USTPA coach, he was the No.1 singles and No.1 doubles player for all 4 years of his career at The University of Northwestern (UNW). While there he was a 2-time NCCAA All-American and a captain of the UMAC conference tournament champions team in 2018. That team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in UNW Men’s tennis history. C.J. brings great experience (playing and coaching) to the operations side of training the next generation of tennis players.
C.J. also brings a strong business acumen to Soar with his background of 4 years in corporate accounting and 2 years as the Founder and Managing Member of Acceleration Operations. C.J.’s unique depth of business knowledge combined with his tennis success, will enable help Soar continue to create a fun, safe, and growth-oriented environment for both coaches and players.
