These 6 KC Current players love good coffee. So they launched their own coffee truck
There’s more to the KC Current women than soccer.
True, being a professional athlete is an impressive feat. Now add “coffee trailer owner” to the resume.
This summer, players Kristen Hamilton (forward, No. 25), Elizabeth Ball (center defender, No. 7) Hailie Mace (midfielder, No. 4), Vanessa DiBenardo (midfielder, No. 16), Mallory Weber (defender, No. 20) and Desiree Scott (midfielder, No. 11) kicked off their mobile business, Pitchside Coffee.
They plan to make several appearances throughout the city. Just look for the little white trailer with a houseplant sitting on its wooden shelf.
The players served espresso to dozens of fans at their “hard launch” this past First Friday.
Crazy day, Ball said. They had posted on Pitchside’s Instagram announcing where they would be parked that evening, expecting to draw a few extra people.
Slight underestimation.
“Right when it started, there was a line down the street, around the corner, and we were like, ‘No way,’” Ball said. “People were having fun, and music was bumping.”
Teammates, friends and now business partners: The six teammates work well together. Hamilton said soccer players quickly form a special bond thanks to long days on the road and hangouts after practice.
“What’s kept me in the sport so long is probably the friendships,” she said. “I’ve been seeing all my best friends that I’ve had since I was four on my first soccer team to ... the past couple years.”
Coffee has long been part of the six players’ social routine.
“We go on away trips, and it’s like, ‘Where can we find the best cup of coffee?’” Hamilton said. “It’s just something our little group has always loved to do.”
In fact, Pitchside was born at a coffee shop in Florida. The six of them were sitting around after preseason training, bouncing around ideas about a shop of their own.
But they decided a brick and mortar coffee place would be too expensive, too time-consuming. When someone suggested try slinging espresso in a camper, however, the players all agreed:
“Hold up,” Hamilton said, recalling the conversation to The Star. “This is something we could actually do because the coffee truck lends to our schedules.”
For those who may know coffee but not soccer, “pitch” is another term for the playing field. The players wanted the truck to nod to their favorite sport without being in-your-face. (It isn’t painted with soccer balls and cleats, after all.)
While Pitchside was born out of a mutual love for caffeine, Hamilton said one of her favorite things about her new business has been getting to connect with fans outside of games at CPKC Stadium at Berkley Riverfront Park.
“It is such a unique thing for professional athletes to be out and about with the community,” she said. “The city’s supported us so much, and so that was really important to us.”
Ball said they’ve been flattered by the scores of emails from fans wanting to book the camper for events. For now, Ball said the players will likely stick to hosting pop-ups on their schedule.
Check their social media pages for announcements on upcoming pop-ups.
“With our main job, our schedule is a little busier than what it could be for us to get out there and do these events,” Ball said.
(Their next game is Saturday at 7 p.m., against Pachuca Femenil at CPKC Stadium.)
On Pitchside’s menu: espresso drinks made with beans from Notion Coffee, as well as chai and cold brew from Kinship Cafe in Kansas City, Kansas. Hamilton bragged about a special strawberry lemonade Weber makes.
The teammates plan to offer specialty drinks that represent each of the players. Stay tuned.
So what’s the long-term plan for Pitchside? Would the players ever open the brick and mortar they once dreamed of having?
Maybe. Hamilton said for now, they’re focusing on the camper and soccer, but a coffee shop is definitely not out of the question.
“Everybody could see a great vision for it down on the Riverfront. … Who knows?” she said.
