Our History

Soar Detroit was founded in 1999 by Doug Kempton, at that time operating under the name of Eagle Sports Club. With a strong passion to reach Detroit families with the gospel, Eagle Sports Club launched its first soccer league at Balduck Park with just over 60 kids and a heart to build life-changing relationships in communities.

What started as 60 playing soccer in the spring became 145 in the fall, with participation growing from there. Soon after, there were nearly 2,000 kids playing sports in a given year, with leagues now including baseball, flag football, and indoor and outdoor soccer. Throughout these years of growth, Soar Detroit was able to bring huge improvements to Balduck Park, including the UAW Ford Championship baseball field, state of the art lights, scoreboard, irrigation, and batting/pitching cages.

In 2005, the team introduced Soar, a literacy program for kids on Detroit’s east side, with just 15 students. Since then the program has served about 150 kids per year, with each child's reading improving by an average of 2 grade levels in each year of tutoring.

In 2017, Soar Detroit partnered with the Detroit Public Schools Community District to provide tutoring during the school day at three elementary schools. This program has been expanded into the following school years as well. And in 2020, Soar Detroit hired a new leader, Russell Harris, who is passionate about serving Detroit and is equipped to take the organization to the next level.

We are grateful for our history but most excited about what lies ahead.

Giving Tuesday 2023

By Soar Detroit

Giving Tuesday 2023