By Kyle Powell / Full360 Writer
As a kid, I never would have thought I’d end up playing football. My first love was cars. I was completely fascinated by them. I’d have my mom buy me a new toy car every day, and I could spend hours flipping through car magazines, imagining myself as a mechanic. That was the plan—until everything changed when I turned 12.
Around that time, I discovered I had a real football talent. It was my mom who first introduced me to the sport. She used to tell everyone she had to put me in something active to burn off my endless energy. I still remember being in the car on the way to a karate class when we passed a group of football players practicing in North Philadelphia. I remember her saying, “I want him to play for something like this.” But the team was too far from home.
As we got closer to our neighborhood, we passed another team—the Moss Eagles in Northeast Philadelphia. My mom stopped the car, entered the building, and called me in after her. That is when I was handed a jersey, helmet, and shoulder pads. I was only 4 years old. I never imagined that moment would be the beginning of something so much bigger.
Senior year came, and while colleges began to reach out, I didn’t get the offers I hoped for—the ones that could put me on a direct path to the pros. Being a kid from the inner city of Philadelphia, especially in the public school system, came with its challenges and stereotypes. At times, I even doubted myself. I felt overlooked. But I did not let that stop me.
I committed to Lycoming College and started my journey, both athletically and academically, majoring in psychology to better understand the people around me.
My first year at Lycoming was all about learning. I studied the senior players in my position and picked up everything I could. Then COVID hit, delaying seasons and adding uncertainty. But I stayed ready. I trained through it all, and that work earned me a starting role in our spring COVID season—and again in the fall of 2021.
2021 was a good year on the field, filled with plays I am proud of. But life off the field shifted again. Financial challenges led me to transfer closer to home, which brought me to Delaware Valley University for the 2022–2023 seasons.
DelVal became a blessing. I did not earn individual awards, but I became part of a team that made history.
– Kyle Powell
We won two championships and built a legacy. That time showed me that success is not always about stats—it is about showing up, contributing, and growing through every experience.
After my final college season, I faced a new kind of uncertainty. I still held tightly to my dream of playing professional football, but I was not sure what came next. So, I did what I have always done I kept working. I reached out to friends in the league, leaned on my network, and kept my faith strong.
That is when I connected with TopArk, an organization that helps athletes play football overseas. They hosted a combine where I showed up and gave everything I had. I was told I made a strong impression. And a couple of months later, in February, an opportunity came. I was offered the chance to play professional football in Mexico.
I signed my contract on Valentine’s Day. On March 27th, I flew out to Guadalajara to officially begin the next chapter of my football journey.
This journey has not been easy. It has been filled with doubts, setbacks, detours, and unexpected blessings. But if there is one thing I have learned, it is that belief in yourself is powerful. Dreams do not always unfold the way we imagine them, but with faith, grit, and consistency, they can still become reality.
From toy cars to shoulder pads, from the streets of Philly to the fields of Mexico I am still chasing the same dream I had as a 12-year-old. And I am just getting started.