For some players, the upcoming season will already be their third year in the European League of Football. Amongst those athletes: two-time Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kitchens.

The 27-year-old defensive end spent the offseason back in the states but feels ready to dominate Europe once again. “I feel amazing coming off the offseason,“ Kitchens comments in an interview. “My body and mind is well prepared for the upcoming season. Everyday was a grind. Basically it was no turning back once I saw the vision.“

In 2022, Kitchens was unstoppable. With 16 sacks (1^st) and 33.5 tackles for loss (1^st), he underlined his skills with a massive statistical output. But how will the Thunder defense look in 2023?

New Face, Same Place

During the offseason, the Berlin franchise has signed a lot of new faces. Next to American defensive back Alex Spillum, the Thunder locked down Finnish defensive tackle Christer Berg. However, they were also able to retain a lot of important players on the defensive side, such as youngster Ludwig Myrén, Ben Baierl, Paul Seifert and Moritz Thiele.

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“I rate the defense players better than last year,“ Kitchens commented on the strategic signings of his franchise. ”We have most of starters coming back. It is all go this year.“

Overall, the Thunder kept twelve of their defensive players from last season and added some serious talent on top. This is the reason Kitchens has set some lofty goals for his team. ”[…] The championship is always the goal. When playing a competitive sport, the trophy makes everything a done deal. It is the bragging rights for a whole year. It is something that lasts forever.“

It remains to be seen if the Thunder are able to pull off a run at the championship. But they certainly look ready to compete once the season starts in about a month.

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