At just 16 years old, Kai Calderbank-Park left Wollongong in New South Wales to chase his dream to become a professional footballer in England.
Little did he know, by the age of 22 he would find himself at Wrexham AFC, in Wales, in the middle of the world’s favourite football fairytale.
The underdog club’s story was told in the sports documentary series Welcome to Wrexham after being bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
“It’s been quite surreal,” Calderbank-Park said.
“Being surrounded by cameras, hanging out with Deadpool [a character played by Reynolds] and Rob McElhenney, it’s normal now.
“It’s just mental.”
Last week, an emotional 3-1 victory against Boreham Wood secured the team’s return to the English Football League after a 15-year exile.
Calderbank-Park, a former Wollongong Wolves player, was signed to Wrexham in September 2022 as a reserve goalkeeper.
While not in the winning match day squad, he watched nervously from the sideline and was swept away by thousands of excited fans who flooded the pitch as the final whistle blew.
“It was unreal, flares were going off, people were jumping up and down yelling ‘we are champions’,” he said.
“It was probably a good half an hour before we could make our way to the dressing room.”
Hoards of cameras are normal at Wrexham’s iconic Racecourse Ground, but it is not always for Reynolds and McElhenney, with Hollywood actor Paul Rudd and King Charles recently visiting the players.
But for Calderbank-Park, meeting his all-time favourite actor topped them all.
“Will Ferrell came into the change room one day and shook my hand,” he said.
“Like holy moly, my favourite actor, I still can’t believe that happened.”
Just a guy from the ‘Gong
Calderbank-Park was born and raised in Wollongong, playing for nine years as a junior at the Unanderra Hearts and one year with the Wollongong Wolves.
He moved with his parents to England in 2017 to train at Premier League club Burnley’s academy.
He then went on to sign for Bury FC in 2020, before playing for a year and a half with the Connah Quay’s Nomads in the Welsh Football League.
Calderbank-Park has also represented Australia at Under-19 and Under-23 levels.
“I miss Wollongong so much and I talk to my best mates back home every day,” he said.
“They actually heard me being talked about on ABC Illawarra radio and let me know, which was cool.”
Calderbank-Park owes much of his success to his father Chris, who not only made him keep goal as a junior when no other boys would, but also landed his Wrexham contract.
“My contract at Connah’s Quay was about to end, and funnily enough my dad was working in Wrexham so decided to pop his head into the football club,” he said.
“He got chatting to one of the coaches and told them about myself.
“Within a few days I was training with them, and within a few weeks I was given a contract.
“It’s a lovely little town to live in, so passionate and so supportive.”
Learning from legends
Integral to Wrexham’s successful season was eight-time England player and former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster.
Foster, who was lured out of retirement by Reynolds and McElhenney in March, saved a 97th-minute penalty to ensure the win.
Calderbank-Park said training side-by-side with Foster had been a privilege.
“To be able to see what he does day-in and day-out, on and off the pitch and learn from him is just unbelievable,” he said.
“He has 18 years on me, so hopefully there’s a while before I reach my full potential and fingers crossed getting tips from him will get me there.”
As for next season, Calderbank-Park is unsure whether he’ll pull on a Wrexham kit.
“It’s still early days, fingers crossed I can stay there and play some League Two football,” he said.
Regardless, Calderbank-Park said to look out for a familiar Aussie face on the next season of Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+.