LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Jeanne Correa always believed her granddaughter, Amber Clark, deserved to be cheered on the field of an NFL stadium.
Correa’s dream will come true Monday when the Kansas City Chiefs recognize Clark, the flag football coach at the University of Saint Mary, for helping the USA Football national team win the IFAF Flag World Cup in late August in Lahti, Finland.
“My grandma — before she passed away — she was so adamant about getting me working with NFL teams, sending them letters all the time, calling them, just making sure that they knew what her granddaughter was doing,” Clark said.
Correa died in June 2023.
A few weeks later, Clark snagged the title-clinching interception as the U.S. national team were crowned IFAF Americas Continental champions in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It marked the end of a long journey for Clark.
Growing up in Greenville, North Carolina, Clark played basketball and volleyball. She also ran track and became a field-events star.
Clark went on to become a long jumper and triple jumper at the University of North Carolina, but she also developed a passion for football but struggled to find a way to tap into that love.
“Football has always been a dream, but after I graduated I finally had the opportunity to play,” Clark said.
She googled women’s tackle football teams, which led her to try out for the Atlanta Steam of the Legends Football League for four years until the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the league.
That’s when Clark pivoted to flag football.
She first tried out for the national team in 2021 but didn’t make the cut then suffered a knee injury before the 2022 tryouts.
That made the 2023 Americas Continental Championships — which also included rival Mexico along with teams from Brazil, Canada, Chile and Panama — a watershed moment.
But Correa’s never far from Clark’s mind when she plays.
“I have her with me everywhere I go,” Clark said, extending her right arm and pulling back her sleeve to reveal a tattoo in Correa’s honor. “I kiss it every time before I get on the field, pray over it when I wake up that morning before a game. She’s always with me.”
Clark saved and still listens to voicemails Correa used to leave her: “This is an important message for Coach Amber Clark from Grandma Jeanne. Have a wonderful, winning game today. Go team! Love you. Talk to you later. Bye.”
Clark smiles wide and wistful as she turns her phone off.
“She had the sweetest voice, she had the sweetest character,” Clark said. “She loved everybody, cared for everybody.”
Clark and one of her IFAF Flag World Cup-winning teammates, Addie Orsborn, who plays for the four-time reigning NAIA national champion Ottawa University flag football team, will be honored during the Chiefs’ game against New Orleans on Monday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I am very nervous about being on the field and having the spotlight on me, because football has always been a dream and so many things are getting checked off the list of what I always imagined but never thought I could actually do,” Clark said.
She takes comfort in knowing Correa will be there to watch over — just like she always is.
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