Becoming a mom has been a life-changing experience for KC Current goalkeeper AD Franch
Kansas City Current goalkeeper AD Franch is a fierce competitor. Her intensity and approach to the game have helped propel her to the heights she’s reached in her career.
Franch’s story is well documented. And almost every profile of the Salina, Kansas native has included an anecdote about how her intensity is a product of what she overcame. It’s also helped her get through some of the experiences she’s faced in her life.
That intensity is evident even as she so much as finishes a training session, but it’s most apparent during games. Her college coach at Oklahoma State once talked about the look Franch takes on after conceding a goal.
That determination comes from her mother, Raqual, who told The Oregonian in 2017 about her resolve to do “everything I possibly could do to make sure my kids had a better life than I had.”
In an interview with The Star this past week, Franch, 32, outlined her definition of the word determination.
“To continue to push forward and learn and grow,” she said. “But at the same time, accept yourself for where you are in the moment, in the present. Because you’ll never get the present back.”
Weighty words, and full of truth, especially when raising a child. And now Franch knows this first-hand.
The National Women’s Soccer League goalkeeper has her own 16-month-old daughter: Kamari Boscacci-Franch. And the bright-eyed toddler is hitting all of the milestones children accomplish.
As Franch continues this interview, she’s still on the natural high of a player who just finished training for the day. But her competitive nature melts as she begins to describe her daughter.
Kamari loves sports, even clapping with the crowd when basketball is on TV. She watches Current games intently with AD’s wife, Emily.
Franch calls Kamari a future athlete, but at the moment it’s a toy piano that’s captivated the youngster’s attention. Kamari playfully tries to play it by sitting on it.
“You love seeing them grow and form their own personalities,” Franch said. “You love being able to show them different things. You love to see how they interact with different people, and you love to see them exploring the world.
“And you love the emotions that come with it. It’s a roller-coaster of emotions. But you take it, and you accept it, and you embrace it and hopefully cherish it.”
Seeing life through the eyes of a child, the world is a playground again.
“Adults forget that sometimes,” Franch said. “When you take a walk with them, it’s not about going a distance or being out there for a certain amount of time. It’s letting them and having the time for them to explore the way in which they want to explore.”
Franch’s life has changed in ways she never imagined possible. She’s experiencing all of the precious highs and exasperating lows of motherhood — such as when Kamari gets sick.
“In those moments where it is exhausting, you’re still their number one,” Franch said. “And taking time, even within that frustration and those hard times like that ... you might not experience this again, you know?”
Franch acknowledges that being a mom is not always easy. That must be even more true for a woman balancing family life with an NWSL pro soccer career. Living in those moments takes determination in its own way.
Which brings this story back to where it started. Merriam-Webster defines determination as a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end.
“Having that mindset is not just something you do in soccer,” Franch said. “I think you can do that in all aspects of life.
“So having a child, in all that sense, makes me want to dive deeper into that and stay more committed to it, to show her that.”
