Top Tier Lessons

Top Tier Lessons operates an online platform that matches parents seeking sports instruction for their children with current college student-athletes who work as coaches. Users select a sport and coach, choose a partnered venue (or suggest their own), pick a time up to a month in advance, and pay through the site's checkout. The company states it handles venue, marketing, scheduling, payment and safety for each lesson, and that coaches are vetted, trained and verified. Sports listed include swimming, soccer, basketball, tennis, baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, football, track and field, and field hockey. Instruction is tiered by age group — for swimming, for example, elementary-age sessions emphasize water safety and early technique, middle-school sessions focus on fundamentals and all four strokes, and high-school sessions cover advanced technique and race strategy, with accelerated learn-to-swim options for older beginners.

Alongside one-on-one lessons, Top Tier Lessons organizes camps and clinics led by Division I athletes, often in partnership with local organizations such as park districts and volleyball academies. It also runs a college recruiting mentorship product in which high school athletes book one-hour video calls with current Division I athletes, receive a pre-call questionnaire, and discuss recruiting, sport-specific guidance and collegiate athletic life; the sessions are held over Google Meet. Listed mentors span sports including soccer, tennis, track and field, football, baseball, softball, basketball, swimming, lacrosse, rowing and dance, and represent schools such as Northwestern, DePaul, Saint Louis University, Georgia Tech, Villanova, Ohio State, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Minnesota, IU-Indy and Lake Forest College. The company also sells gift cards for lessons.

Founding story

Founder Cara Bognar grew up as a swimmer in South Carolina, the oldest of five children, and was inspired by older athletes who returned to her swim club in the summer. She went on to become a college swimmer and team captain at the University of Illinois, and started Top Tier Lessons so children could receive similar mentorship from local college athletes while giving athletes with demanding schedules flexible, fulfilling work.

Business model

The platform intermediates between parents booking lessons and college-athlete coaches, taking bookings and payment online while managing venues, scheduling, marketing and safety vetting. It also runs paid clinics and camps with partner venues and organizations, sells gift cards, and offers paid one-hour recruiting mentorship calls with college athletes.

Revenue is generated through online paid bookings for lessons, camps and clinics, gift card purchases, and bookable one-hour recruiting mentorship calls.

Traction

Following its launch in Champaign, the company reported hosting multiple clinics and facilitating over 200 lessons on the platform, raising thousands of dollars for local sports teams through clinics in Champaign, Paxton and Chicago. One listed coach had coached 28 lessons and one parent had booked 7 lessons. A free University of Illinois swim clinic drew more than 100 swimmers, families and fans, and the Stanford volleyball clinic trained more than 30 athletes.

Latest developments

Recent activity includes an announced partnership with the Champaign Park District for a series of all-skills clinics for 3rd-8th graders featuring University of Illinois student-athletes, the Stanford Volleyball Hitting & Setting Clinic with Academy Volleyball on May 16, 2026, and a two-day co-ed lacrosse clinic in Cincinnati on June 6-7, 2026. The company also markets a college recruiting mentorship offering with Division I athlete mentors across multiple sports and universities.