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Robert King, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, is embracing his newfound opportunity to play what he calls ‘American' football in the small rural community of Meriden, N.H.

King and his Kimball Union Academy football team are currently defending the NEPSAC (New England Prep Schools Athletic Conference) title that the Wildcats won last year. A first defeat of the 2008 fall campaign suffered in week seven of an eight-week regular season might have a bearing on whether or not the Wildcats are invited to participate in postseason play.

King is a member of the USA Football International Student Program (ISP), which gives student-athletes from around the world the opportunity to accomplish their dream of playing football and studying at U.S. prep schools. A total of 12 international student-athletes who meet specific academic and athletic criteria are enrolled in schools in five different states and receive financial aid from the program.

King has traveled from his home several thousand miles away in Denmark to play and study at Kimball Union Academy and is not the only member of the Wildcats roster who finds himself far from familiar shores. KUA has four other ISP athletes in Christoph Kurzer and Kasim Edabli from Germany, Luke Robinson from Australia, and fellow Danish athlete Kevin Gangelhoff, who first informed King about the ISP.

"Kevin told me about the program and said that he really liked it," King explained. "He introduced me to some people and coaches and they told me how to apply."

While King is an ISP rookie, Gangelhoff is in his second year at Kimball Union Academy. He had a successful first season as a tight end and linebacker and has since verbally committed to attend and play football at the University of New Hampshire in 2009.

In July, King and Gangelhoff were teammates on the Danish Junior National Team that competed at the 2008 European Junior Championships in Sevilla, Spain, leading the team to a fourth place finish. It was the highest-ever placing for a Danish team in international competition.

"Sevilla was a great experience," King said. "The heat was hard to play in, but I got to see some good competition. It was a chance to test myself to see if I could make it over here."

King is definitely ‘making it' in New Hampshire.

He has played in every game on the offensive line in the Wildcats' seven wins as they established an impressive unbeaten run before falling 42-40 to Proctor Academy last Saturday. Provided KUA beats Vermont Academy at home this weekend, the school's second straight bowl game appearance and King's first, could be on the line.

"Football is faster and the players are lot bigger over here," King said. "There is always someone who is going to be better than you, so the competition is better."

Besides the difference in quality of opposition, King has also been forced to adjust to practicing daily, which is a new concept for him. Previously he hit the practice field three times a week at most for his Danish club team, the Copenhagen Towers.

"Practices are good," he added. "I practice every day now, which is a real change, but I like it."

King, who is more accustomed to the urban life of Copenhagen than the rolling hills and wide-open spaces of rural New Hampshire, is also experiencing the Northeast United States for the first time.

"I didn't know much about the school or what to expect before I came here," he said. "But I did not expect to be living in the forest! I am a city boy, so I'm not used to it all. I just saw a snake right next to me other day and that was very different."

USA Football's ISP focuses on the student-athlete's academic qualities in addition to their athletic performances. As a result, athletes must satisfy their school's academic criteria and do as well in the classroom as they do on the football field.

Kimball Union Academy's school curriculum is already a challenging prospect for most students and King has the added difficulty of learning his subjects in a second language.

"Some classes are hard to adjust to," he admitted. "It is a new thing. Math is hard, the terms they use especially, so I need to adjust to that. Also, old English language books are hard. I am reading the Scarlet Letter right now and it is difficult to understand."

Overall, King is enjoying his time a Kimball Union Academy, and says that his favorite part of being on the tight-knit campus is the social life of meeting new people who he has found to be very friendly. With the help of some of his new friends, he even plans to start a new school group - a step dancing class - after the football season.

Naturally, a teenager living away from home in a foreign environment can be forgiven for giving in to the occasional bout of homesickness.

"I miss my family, my friends, my old soccer team, and probably Danish girls," King said, who has ambitious plans for his football career in the years to come.

"It would be so great to play at the top level of college football," he said. "I know I need to work on things to achieve that. I am trying to get bigger, better, and faster. I am going to go into the weight room and I am going to run a lot."

Until then, King hopes to help his Wildcats secure another NESPAC title in his first year as a member of the USA Football International Student Program.