From a young age he was enthralled with the beautiful game.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now one Bowral High School student is turning his passion into reality.
Year 10 superstar Sebastian Hernandez was selected to the Australian Schoolboys' Football Team and competed in Brisbane against some of the best rising talent.
The Australian Schoolboys are junior sporting teams that represent Australia in various sporting codes.
Related: Attitude key for Highlands FC
Being selected to the up and coming, New South Wales star-studded team was an accomplishment in itself, but Hernandez and his teammates did the unthinkable, they went undefeated.
Before setting the perfect tone for his football career, Hernandez fell in love with the game at a young age and looked up to the greats to model his own game on.
"My first memories of playing football would be in Yerinbool," Hernandez said.
"I played my first season of the game there when I was nine and I've been playing since. I try and model my game after Brazillian Neymar. He's quick and skillful and that's what I aim for my game to be."
The competition was really tough, we did go undefeated, but we played some excellent players..
- Sebastian Hernandez
Hernandez went on an absolute goal kicking frenzy when competing in Brisbane. While such a great accomplishment could cloud a young mind with over-confidence, the first people he thanked was his magnificent team.
"Yeah, I was pretty happy with my performance in Brisbane," Hernandez said.
"I scored five goals in three games, so that felt really good, but I had such a great team around me and that really helps.
"The competition was really tough, we did go undefeated, but we played some excellent players and competed against some fierce competition. We just had a really well assembled team."
Going undefeated in such a challenging competition doesn't come easy.
The players a part of the NSW Australian Schoolboys' Football Team wanted to get a foot up on the competition no matter difficult circumstances were.
"We met up a few times before the competition," Hernandez said.
"It was pretty difficult as we all lived in different places around NSW. We played a few games against local clubs.
"To keep myself sharp for the competition, I ran through my drills just to stay on top of my game. I did a lot of running to keep fit and fast."
Hernandez scored against South Australia in their 5-2 opening match victory.
He then went on a tear scoring twice against Victoria in a 7-3 demolition, and scoring twice again in their 7-0 thrashing of Western Australia in their fifth and final match.
They finished top of the table with a perfect 5-5 victories and 15 points. Victoria finished in second place with 12 points and Queensland in third with nine.
As the year winds down Hernandez is already looking toward a big 2020. He will continue playing for his beloved club and hopes to continue growing as a player.
As a die-hard Liverpool fan, the sky is the limit for this special future talent.
"Blacktown City will be my club for the rest of 2019 and 2020," Hernandez said.
"I'll be playing with the schoolboys' squad in January and I'll be continuing playing with Blacktown City.
"It's going to be a big year and I'm looking forward to continually growing as a player. I'm really looking forward to the challenge."