[1] Soares was born into a poor family in Portugal, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 11.
[2] Soares began playing rugby in 1969 and, as of 2005, was the only player to have participated in 13 consecutive United States National Championships.
He was a member of the U.S. wheelchair rugby team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
[3] He was also a finalist in singles and a champion in doubles at the 1996 U.S. Open for wheelchair tennis in the Quad "A" Division.
Soares coached Germany at the 2011 Europeans Wheelchair Rugby Championships, leading them to their worst historic placing and failing to qualify for the London 2012 Paralympics.