Kyle Swords (Swordsy) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

defender who played professionally in the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

and National Professional Soccer League. Swords was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. He attended Wayne High School (class of 1992) in the Dayton suburb of

Huber Heights Huber Heights is a city in Montgomery and Miami Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of Dayton. The population was 43,439 at the 2020 census. This was a 14% increase since the 2010 census, making it the largest growth in Montgomery ...

and was an inaugural member of the Wayne Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. Swords attended

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 1992 to 1996. In 1997, he turned professional with the expansion

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hershey ...

in the

USISL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. Swords would play every season of the Wildcats five-year existence. In 2001, the Wildcats fell to the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

in the

2001 A-League The 2001 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer Leagues during the summer of 2001. Summary The addition of the Portland Timbers saw the renewal of a Pacific Northwest rivalry between them, the Seattle Sounders ...

championship. Swords was the A-League.com Defender of the Year that same season. Swords also played indoor soccer beginning in the fall of 1997. That year, he joined the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League. He was selected to the 1997-98 All Rookie Team and is a member of the Harrisburg Heat All-Decade Team. The Heat traded him to the Baltimore Blast following the 2000–2001 season and the Wildcats withdrew from the league in the fall of 2001. On January 11, 2002, Swords signed with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

for the 2002 season. On February 1, 2003, he joined the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

for the second half of the Major Indoor Soccer League season. The Blast won the league title, that season. In 2004, Swords finished his career with a single season with the

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. Following his retirement from professional soccer, Swords entered the coaching ranks. From 2004 to 2007, he coached the Loyola Blakefield High School boys' team, winning the 2005 Maryland state champs. He later served as a volunteer assistant with the University of Cincinnati women's team.Cincinnati Bearcats: Kyle Swords
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External links

Charleston Battery: Kyle Swords

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swords, Kyle Living people 1974 births American men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Charleston Battery players Harrisburg Heat players Penn FC players Hershey Wildcats players James Madison Dukes men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players USL First Division players USL Second Division players People from Huber Heights, Ohio Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio Men's association football defenders 20th-century American sportsmen