Ricky Proehl -Empowering kids through Play
Ricky Proehl, who played four years of Football at Wake Forest, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 1990. Proehl went on to play an incredible 17 years in the NFL, including three with the St. Louis Rams as an important piece of “The Greatest Show on Turf”. His NFL career brought him back to North Carolina as a member of the Carolina Panthers coaching staff in 2011 as the Wide Receiver coach. The 2015 season saw Proehl and the Panthers reach the Super Bowl with a regular season record of 15-1, ultimately falling to the Denver Broncos 24-10. His position group helped the Panthers reach Super Bowl 50 and lead the NFL with 500 points and tied for third with 35 receiving touchdowns despite losing No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury in training camp. Throughout his career in the NFL, Proehl reached the Super Bowl 5 times, 4 as a player and one as a coach, and has 2 Super Bowl victories on his resume.
A Place to Call Home
Proehl decided to call Greensboro home in 1993 while he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals, and 2 years after that, in 1995 he and his wife began the Ricky Proehl P.O.W.E.R. of Play Foundation, focusing on helping children in North Carolina who would benefit from emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial support. The foundation focuses on creating an atmosphere where kids can be kids in a safe, fun environment. They teach children the core values of Play, Opportunity, Work, Excellence, and Respect (P.O.W.E.R.) while providing them with a place to enjoy the benefits of playing and Proehlific Park.
Proehl decided to call Greensboro home in 1993 while he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals, and 2 years after that, in 1995 he and his wife began the Ricky Proehl P.O.W.E.R. of Play Foundation, focusing on helping children in North Carolina who would benefit from emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial support. The foundation focuses on creating an atmosphere where kids can be kids in a safe, fun environment. They teach children the core values of Play, Opportunity, Work, Excellence, and Respect (P.O.W.E.R.) while providing them with a place to enjoy the benefits of playing and Proehlific Park.
His entrepreneurial spirit is on display in Northwest Greensboro at the Proehlific Park facility. Proehlific Park, which held its grand opening in 2008 is where Proehl’s business and foundation are based out of. Proehlific Park is a 20-acre complex, complete with a 60,000 square-foot gym, accompanied by batting cages, basketball courts, a 70 yd by 40 yds indoor turf training facility which is one of the largest in the area, as well as 6 athletic fields. Their mission is to “inspire, cultivate, and ignite the P.O.W.E.R. within each of us, no matter our age using sport, exercise, play, and spirituality as tools for life and to help others.
Anyone who has met Ricky will tell you that he is extremely charismatic and exudes a ton of positive energy as well as a Can-Do mentality at all times. He is a very inspiring person, a highly-committed family man, a hard-working entrepreneur and a gift to the Greensboro area.
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