USA Football

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Luke Robinson aims to put Australia on the map of American football and hopes that in return, his nation's flag will fly at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire.

Robinson has become a key member of the KUA Wildcats team that has cruised to a 4-0 unbeaten record so far this season in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference. The native of Sydney, Australia, started his first game at offensive guard in a recent 44-14 road win against New Hampton School and aims to keep his place on the offensive line.

But then there is the matter of the flag.

"They seem to have one in here from every country expect for Australia," said Robinson, as he surveyed the Kimball Union Academy dining hall that is dressed out in flags from many countries - but none from Down Under.

The academy, located in the mountainous countryside in deepest New Hampshire, is proud of its tradition of attracting overseas students and promised the Australian flag will soon hang next to those of countries illustrating the diversity of its students. Robinson lines up alongside players from Germany, Denmark and the Dominican Republic on the football field and fellow students from many more nations in the classroom.

The 18-year-old finds himself in the North Eastern United States courtesy of a unique initiative known as the USA Football International Student Program. As the sport's governing body on youth and amateur levels, USA Football identifies gridiron prospects overseas and, through a financial aid program, is able to offer athletes such as Robinson the opportunity to play the game in its homeland.

And the students have to study, too.

"Classes are great," said Robinson, producing an answer that sounded suspiciously more like a practiced public relations line than a completely truthful answer. "Well, it's alright. Math is OK. English is not so good.

"As for U.S. history, I wasn't even that good when it came to Australian history, so that's a tough one."

But Robinson, whose academic goals must remain on par with those on the gridiron in order for him to thrive at Kimball Union, is adjusting well to the culture shock of life on the other side of the world.

"He is a very quiet kid and he doesn't say a lot, but he has a really dry sense of humor," said KUA head coach John Lyons. "He is very coachable, and he understands that he has a lot to learn. He is willing to do everything we ask of him."

Robinson originally arrived in New Hampshire as a linebacker and full back, but Lyons has given Robinson a different role, based on his size and to some extent his relative lack of experience on the gridiron.

He explained: "I believe Luke has played eight-man football, but the 11-man game is very different and he is not as fluid athletically as he needs to be to play those positions. We have him playing guard and defensive end, but in time he will become a defensive tackle, as he is not quick off the edges when it comes to rushing the quarterback or reacting to a play. He shows a lot of promise inside. He has to get bigger and stronger."

Robinson has already started adding to his frame in the school's weight room.

Robinson heard about the USA Football International Student Program while playing for the Australian Junior National Team that he represented in Arizona and California during this summer's Outback Tour. Playing against a junior college and practicing on U.S. soil helped prepare him for his arrival in New Hampshire.

It also acted as the ideal grounding for a possible Australian assault on the world title in the United States next summer. If the junior national team can overcome New Zealand in a tournament qualifier in Canberra on January 24, they will travel to Canton, Ohio, in June to compete in the 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship. In opposition will be Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the United States and one more yet-to-be determined nation.

"It is exactly how I expected it to be here," Robinson said. "It is much tougher here than in Australia. It is a very different game.

"Coming over here earlier this year definitely helped us step up into our roles. It helped me a lot. Since then I've noticed a change in my game. It has definitely improved since three years ago when I just started playing. I guess I will just keep growing."

No matter how much he learns to adjust on the gridiron, away from the field of play, New Hampshire's forbidding winters and snowfall might provide the biggest adjustment challenge for the teenager who admits he misses the beaches back home.

"It is a lot different here," he said, as the autumn temperatures began to dip and the leaves turned from green to the multitude of shades that attract tourists in droves. "At home in Australia, there is more general heat and steady temperatures. Here it keeps going up and going down. It is a bit crazy."

Before Robinson knows it, there will be several feet of snow on the ground, but classes and football practice will go on as normal. Then life will seem crazy.