Chili Peppers are red hot

When Cam Clark was asked to coach a team in the Soccer Association of Independence more than a decade ago, he had no idea that one of his little pig-tailed pixies would emerge as the premier player in Independence.
Sarah Franklin owns just about every offensive record you can name at Truman High School, and Clark laughs about some early video he has of the Patriots forward.
“She has two blonde pony tails and they just bounce as she runs up and down the field,” Clark said. “She was 5 or 6 at the time, and we still have most of the girls from that first team on the team today.”
That’s because Clark believes that playing is the most important part of amateur sports – not cutting kids to bring in new, more talented players.
“So many teams cut four players a year, and we don’t do that,” Clark said. “Ten of our 17 girls have basically been with us since they started.”
Not only do the girls compete, and enjoy playing together, they win.
“We’ve had a lot of success,” Clark said. “It’s so cut-throat out there, but not on this team. When I was asked to coach, I didn’t even had a girl on the team. I had a son who played soccer and I saw what he went through on some of his club teams and I said we’re never going to go through that on a team I coach.”
That approach has made Clark a special coach, friend and mentor to the girls and their parents.
“Every day I thank God that Sarah was able to play for a coach like Cam,” Sarah’s mother, Kellie, said, with a touch of emotion in her voice. “He doesn’t just treat the girls like they are his players, he treats them like they are members of his family.
“He will go watch their Truman softball or soccer games and really makes them feel special. I think Sarah has played for him since she was 5 or 6 years old. It’s just amazing that we were lucky enough to find a coach like Cam.
“He knows the game – he really know the game inside and out – but he’s a people person and he knows how to treat the girls. He really is like their second father.”
Sarah agrees with her mom.
“I am so happy that I get to say a few words about Coach Clark,” Franklin said. “When I first started to play for him, I didn’t have any idea he’d be my coach for all this time. And I didn’t know how lucky I was to have him for a coach.
“I have a lot of coaches, and he is the most dedicated coach I have ever had. And he cares so much for the girls. Did you know he’s never cut a girl? There are some girls who don’t play as much as other girls and there are girls who leave on their own, but he has never cut a girl.
“And despite that, we have been a very successful team. But we have also become a family, and that’s more important than being a team. We are a family and Coach is like our second dad.
“I’ve had so many chances to go to other teams and play for other coaches and I would never even consider it. This is my team – this is my family.”
Franklin is not the only area standout to play for the Chili Peppers.
In fact, most of her Truman teammates were part of the team – including Nikki Lucas, Callie Lucas, Kristi Blau, Courtney Eisman and Taryn Nash all play for the Chili Peppers.
And Truman is not the only team benefitting from the experience of the Chili Peppers, as goalkeeper Kirstie Warren has started most games for Blue Springs South this season.
If Clark has his way, some kids with pony tails bobbing up the field will be making noise for area teams – as well as his – for a long, long time.