Kai Calderbank-Park.

The former Hearts junior is arguably the club's biggest export since Brendon Santalab, forging an impressive resume in the United Kingdom since departing the Illawarra as a teenager. Calderbank-Park spent two years with the Burnley Football Club Academy before having loan spells at Curzon Ashton and Hyde United, and moving to Bury FC. The goalkeeper then arrived at Welsh club Connah's Quay Nomads on a permanent contract in January 2021.

Having already represented Australia's under 19s, Calderbank-Park will soon boast national under 23s experience, with the side set to face Indonesia in Dushanbe in two AFC U/23 Asian Cup qualifiers later this month.

The news was warmly welcomed by Hearts Junior Football Club members.

"As someone from the club, it makes you proud to hear that. We're trying to change things at Unanderra where kids go from under fives and sixes through to playing first grade. We're trying to set up a pathway. Kai left us and didn't go through to senior football, but he went on to play professional football overseas. And you feel like you were a little bit part of it," club president Greg Stratton said.

"The last high profile player to come through here would have been Brendon Santalab, but there's been a couple of other really good players since."

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It may be hard to imagine, but Calderbank-Park started his playing days at the Hearts as a striker. He then tried pulling on the gloves and it was a move that proved seamless, with the 20-year-old now playing in the highest professional Welsh league.

However, he hasn't forgotten his roots. In a pre-COVID world, Calderbank-Park and dad Chris would return home to meet local juniors and conduct drills.

"Kai would take photos with the boys and girls, and they'd always ask him questions. He was always a nice kid. His dad was his coach at Unanderra. Chris is a reasonably highly credentialed coach and has some good knowledge, and put a lot into the club. Kai was part of a very successful team at Unanderra and he's never forgotten the club that he was a junior at," Stratton said.

"I think he might have been 17 (when he left), I think he had one year at the (Wollongong) Wolves, and then Burnley came to us. They actually sent us over a shirt and some other stuff as a thank you because we had to release him. It wasn't about money or anything, you're not going to hold a kid back when he's got that opportunity. You sign on the dotted line and let him go.

"It's always good for the club to have people that achieve because it gives the kids a goal to aspire to. They think 'hey, he played for Unanderra and look at him now, maybe I can do it too'."

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