CAA Spotlight: Coach Swantko

This week’s Coach Spotlight features tennis coach Don Swantko from BASIS Mesa.

Get to Know Coach Swantko

Coach Swantko has been coaching youth programs for over ten years and this is his second season coaching at BASIS Mesa. 

His love for sports goes way back. He played in both high school and college tennis. In college, he was named as a doubles player to the 2009 All-PSAC Men’s Tennis Team in NCAA Division II, Atlantic Region. His college team at Millersville University qualified for the NCAA Division II Team Tennis Championship, Atlantic Region in both 2009 and 2011.

Coach Swantko continues to play in USTA leagues in Phoenix, and their team made it to nationals this year. 

While growing up, Coach Swantko admired two great athletes: Andre Agassi and Brett Favre. He admired them for their tenacity and for their ability to find unique solutions out of thin air. Coach Swantko has always incorporated these aspects into his tennis game. 

Coach Swantko and His Athletes

With so much experience behind him Coach Swantko offers the following advice to his athletes: “The biggest thing that I stress is to have fun.” He aims to teach his athletes to love the game of tennis and to be passionate about it so that they can get as much joy out of this sport as he did. 

His 2020 spring season was going great and it is very unfortunate it had to be brought to a stop. Coach Swantko was particularly happy about the additional tournaments scheduled on weekends which gave his athletes more opportunities to compete. 

His greatest accomplishments are reflected in the accomplishments of his athletes. One of his players, Tristin Foster, reached the girl’s state finals in the high school A division as a 9th grader. Coach Swantko says she is a “gritty player who never gives up, and I am looking forward to seeing her try to win it all this year.” Another one of his players enjoyed quite a success last year. Arin Sharma reached the boys state finals in the high school A division as an 8th grader. Coach Swantko says, “He trains extremely hard year-round and has great potential with the ability to be a force in the league for years to come.”

Coach Swantko and CAA

Coach Swnatko would like to thank our Director Reanna Jiang, as he feels she has done a great job organizing the tennis tournaments and matches this year. 

He enjoys being part of CAA as he knows it benefits his athletes by giving them the chance to make new and long-lasting friends. He has seen many players sprint by their parents to hug and catch up with new friends from other teams whom they’ve met at previous tournaments and matches. “It is awesome to see the development of the Valley’s tennis community of the future.” says Coach Swantko.  

Coach Swantko thank you from CAA for your hard work and dedication. We hope to see many more great tennis seasons with you and your athletes! 

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