This Is the Los Angeles Sol: Martina Franko

Part Eight in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2009 Los Angeles Sol.

There is an adage in the lexicon of the English vocabulary: "Better late than never."

One of Canada's best late blooming woman footballers to play in the Great White North is a forward/midfielder from Northern California by the name of Martina Franko. 

An acquisition of the Los Angeles Sol during the 2009 season, she brings a championship-winning mentality to a club in the hunt for a championship of their own.

But not only is she a proven athlete, but also a proven coach. It's true students of the game like Franko—who calls Squamish, British Columbia her home—that make the Los Angeles Sol a special team full of special players.

Maybe that explains why she is a late bloomer professionally.

Franko was born on Jan. 13, 1976 in Los Altos, located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Not far from Los Altos lies Cupertino, the home of Apple Incorporated; Mountain View, the home of Google; Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University, HP, Faceboook and VMWare; and Los Altos Hills, where former 49er quarterback Steve Young and Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang reside.

Down the Foothill and Central Expressways is Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium, where FC Gold Pride and Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes play as well as Santa Clara University's men's and women's teams.

Franko's parents have sport in their blood as they formed a powerful ice dancing pair in the former Czechoslovakia in the 1960's.

It's not a surprise that Franko, then known as Martina Holan, decided to make a name for herself just like Mom and Dad did.

In 1994, Franko signed with the Colorado College Tigers. During her playing career in Colorado Springs, she scored 45 goals to go with 17 assists to finish second on the all-time career scoring list (as of the conclusion of the 2008 season).

In 2003, she married John Franko in Squamish, British Columbia, and her life would change.

A stint with Surrey United of the local Metro Women's Soccer League gave way to five seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps Women.

Playing alongside accomplished stars like FC Gold Pride's Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair as well as Kara Lang (who is now playing for defending W-League champion Pali Blues), Franko led the Caps to W-League championships in 2004 and 2006.

The Caps also finished first in the Western Division from 2004 to 2006 with Franko on the pitch at Swangard Stadium.

At the ripe old age of 29, Franko earned her first cap for the Canadian national team with her first goal scored in a 4-3 defeat to Germany on her second cap. At the 2007 Pan American Games, she helped Big Red earn big bronze. 

Franko also competed with the national team at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In all, Franko has made 54 appearances internationally for Canada.

Like Karina LeBlanc, coaching the game has been in Franko's blood. In fact, coaching soccer has lingered longer than playing as a professional.

From 1990-1994, she was a coach for World Soccer Inc., a youth club in California. She teamed up with her sister to create the Girls Soccer Academy, a training ground for aspiring women footballers aged six to 18, while earning her stripes at Colorago College.

After graduating from the college, she became an assistant coach for the 1998 season and in 2001, she created the International School of Soccer (ISOS) in Squamish which also develops soccer skills for adults and children alike.

A proud Canadian "B" coaching license holder, Franko was hired by Squamish's Quest University Canada as the head coach of the Kermodes women's soccer team in 2008. 

A kermode, for all of you wondering, is a type of bear. Actually, it's a subspecies of the American Black Bear, but its cream-colored coat is due to a recessive trait in their genes.

The Kermode, named after Canadian zoologist Francis Kermode and also referred to as the Spirit Bear, is the provincial mammal of BC.

Outside of football, Franko has been on many adventures around the world from cycling and hiking in the mountains outside Squamish, to surfing the beaches of the Philippines, telemark skiing in France, and rock climbing in Thailand.

In 2009, she signed with the Los Angeles Sol as a free agent and began a new journey playing in Women's Professional Soccer.

But for this journeywoman, it has already been one heck of a journey.

It's a journey that has seen her earn her stripes in Colorado Springs, win W-League hardware in Vancouver, create soccer academies on both sides of the border, and earn a head coaching position for a new university in her adopted home town.

The time Martina Franko spends with the Los Angeles Sol is just a small section of a path less traveled. 

A trail blazed by a lifelong learner of the game of soccer.