Despite the depressed state the Southern Kings find themselves in, even before Super Rugby season begins, many players in Port Elizabeth see the troubled franchise as the perfect trigger to ignite their careers. One such promising youngster is Lukhanyo Am, 22, the Sharks centre loaned out to the Kings to gain Super Rugby experience.Am was at Border last year before the Sharks signed him.The inside centre - a dynamic 1.86m and 93kg - is poised for a breakthrough this season.Although he has yet to wear the black and white of his parent franchise, Am believes good performances in Port Elizabeth will once more draw Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold's attention."If I have a great season with the Kings, it might get me noticed a lot more in Durban, " said Am."If I establish myself at the Kings I'll be a more rounded player by the time I return to the Sharks."That said, preparation at the Kings is great. As a squad we are still in a learning phase but we are pushing hard to make sure that we are prepared."The stats from the SA Rugby Union Mobi unit guys are valuable. As the backs, we worked with Louis [Koen] on how to approach the game. His sessions have been good, so have been defence coach Jacques Nienaber's."Am was a beneficiary of the SA Rugby Exchange Programme, which sent young South African players from poor backgrounds to experience life and rugby in Britain in 2012. His posting at Saracens was a fairy-tale boost for his career.It brought him into a dressing room that had World Cup players such as Schalk Brits, Brad Barritt, John Smit and Owen Farrell."For a guy who only had one Under-19 season under his belt as a professional rugby player it was a career-defining move," Am said."I had a decent Under-19 season and at the end of that year I got alerted about the chance by Richard de Jager, who ran the programme."He told me there's an opportunity to go overseas and asked me how I felt about it. I obviously jumped at it."Am hails from Hoërskool De Vos Malan - a school that has long lived under the shadow of its more illustrious King William's Town contemporary, Dale College. But he has not been short of determination. While in London he got a good glimpse of what it took to make it big."I chatted a lot with the South Africans in that side like Neil de Kock, Schalk Brits, Alistair Hargreaves and Brad Barritt, the England centre," he said."Even John Smit was still there. I think at the time he might have had a season left in his playing career before he left."I was training with people who I considered to be superstars. I saw from them how important hard work was. Even though they had reached the highest levels of the game, they were still pushing themselves hard."I grew as a player skills-wise and my overall game improved massively. It motivated me to reach for the top level."..