Twenty one year-old Lithgow export Gerard Roebuck is kicking his way to success in Texas.
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The homegrown footballer has been juggling study and play for the last two years with an Environmental Science degree at St Mary's University in San Antonio and playing goalkeeper for the university team.
He also plays keeper for Corpus Christi FC in Summer between school semesters, in the United Soccer League Division 2.
Roebuck started playing football at a young age for local club Lithgow Thistle FC.
"I've been playing for as long as I can remember, and since I was young I always liked diving around the place.
"I put myself in a goal and from then on just grew more and more comfortable in the position," he said.
Now playing overseas, it has opened up plenty of opportunity for him to travel and play the world game.
The past fall season has taken Roebuck around the country to compete in Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and all over Texas including Dallas, Houston and Austin.
"A game highlight would have to be saving a penalty in the quarter-final play off game last year in West Texas and playing in the mountains of Colorado was a sight to behold," Roebuck said.
He said it was challenging when it came to balancing study, fitness and leisure.
"When we're in season we're travelling a lot for games which means I miss a lot of classes.
"It's up to me to contact my professor and catch up on all the work and try my hardest to study on the bus or at the hotel," he said.
A typical day for Roebuck is class from 9.30am-12.30pm, followed by strength and conditioning between 1pm-2pm with the team, more class between 2.30pm and 3.30pm then team training from 4pm-6pm.
"I usually spend 6.30pm 'til bedtime studying or a leisure activity depending on how much work I have," he said.
Roebuck said the hardest part of the whole experience had been moving far away from friends and family.
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"It was hard especially in the beginning but lucky we have Skype," he laughed.
Despite the challenges he said the highlight so far had been the experience of American culture.
"It's something I'm still getting used to and it never ceases to surprise me.
"I've been been invited to friends' homes for Thanksgiving, been involved in the 'student-athlete life' and generally been thrown into a completely different lifestyle," he said.
Roebuck said the ultimate goal is to end up playing professional football somewhere in the world.
"The steppingstone of the USA will be great to attain my degree and hopefully at the end of the road, I will have gained enough skills both on and off the pitch to continue to revolve my life around football," he said.
He also wanted to thank his parents for their continuous love and support.
"I'm always grateful for the hard yards they put in like when they would drive me to Sydney three times a week for training," he said.
He also thanked the local sponsors and coaches who have helped him throughout the years and if there were any other athletes considering the same career path he'd gladly answer any questions.