Two Southern Highland students have been selected to NSW sporting representative teams.
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Bowral High school's Thye Hamilton of year 9 was selected for the New South Wales Combined High Schools Merit Team for AFL and year 10's Sebastian Hernandez was selected for the New South Wales 16 years Boys Football (Soccer) Team.
Growing up in a state that is heavily in favour of the rugby codes, Hamilton has been immersed in the game he loves since he can remember.
"My family bought me up around the game of AFL,"Hamilton said.
"Mum got me into the game when I was young, dad played it also. I've grown up with it and into it. I love the Sydney Swans."
Hamilton represented the South Coast Region 15 years Boys AFL Team at the NSW All Schools AFL State Championships.
The NSW tournament was held at Greenway Park in Sydney from June 4-6. South Coast may have only won one game, but it was Hamilton's performance that resulted in his selection to the NSW squad. And that selection has opened many new doors for him.
His selection to the NSW team is the highest possible honour in the school system of Australian Football.
"I went down to Batemans Bay with a mate of mine and we tried out for the South Coast team," Hamilton said
"They selected the team down there. This will be my tenth season and I've just played my 200th game. I played all through high-school with Bowral so it's exciting to now play for the state.
"I told my parents first. I was really excited when I found out. I had no idea what to say when they told me.
"Mum and dad are super happy for me."
This isn't the only thing left on the objective list for Hamilton in 2019, he still has more he'd like to accomplish.
"I'll be at the benchmark for the Sydney Swans academy," Hamilton said.
"If I make it through that I'll get into the top end of the academy for the Swans."
Hernandez recently competed with the NSW Combined High Schools team in the NSW All Schools Football Championships in Sydney on June 24-25.
The competition was top notch and Hernandez had the highest respect for whoever he was facing.
"I found the competition pretty tough, there were some really good players out there," he said.
"I play in the attack mid-field position and I found the defence pretty hard to pass. They played a really tough and physical game."
It may have been tough, but Hernandez's performance earned himself a selection in the New South Wales 16 years Boys' Football Team and will be competing at the Australian Championships in Brisbane in October.
"It feels pretty good to be selected and represent my state," Hernandez said.
"Coming from a smaller area, where not many people know about soccer, it feels great to be selected.
"I'll be heading up to Brisbane and I'm looking forward to that."
Playing the world's game runs in Hernandez's blood. He comes from a line of players and looks to continue to make his family proud.
"My granddad played and dad would tell me stories about it," Hernandez said.
"Playing soccer has run through my family for generations. I used to play for Sydney FC youth league so now I'm hoping to take the next step in my football playing."
