Squash: Northlander Finn Trimble all set to play for New Zealand at World Junior Championships

Finn Trimble is getting set for the World Junior Championships, held in Tauranga in July. Photo/Squash New Zealand

Finn Trimble is a young man on a mission.

The 18-year-old squash player has been selected to represent New Zealand in the World Junior Championships in July. The event is being hosted by Tauranga.

Trimble is gearing up to take on the world's best junior players, and said it should be a great experience.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited. I played it last year so I know what needs to happen I guess," he said. "Hopefully I'll improve on my results from last time.

"To prepare I've been more focused on on-court stuff lately, but during the off-season I worked a lot on my cardiovascular fitness and also my strength."

Trimble will compete in the junior men's Individuals event after starting the year strongly by winning the Under-19 Oceania Junior Championships title and the Aon New Zealand Junior Open title.

He was also part of the 2016 world junior men's team, where he was knocked out of the individuals event in round three of the special plate.

Trimble said being part of the New Zealand elite squad had been a huge help to him and he couldn't wait to play on home turf.

"I enjoy the hard training and catching up with my friends," he said.

"Players will be coming from all over the world to New Zealand so our younger players get to watch the top juniors. It will be awesome to be able to play in front of family and friends."

Trimble's whirlwind 2017 doesn't end there. He heads off to the United States on a scholarship to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

"The coach there sought me out," Trimble said. "I met him a couple of years ago when I was playing a tournament over in the US and we've been in contact ever since."

Trimble hasn't declared a college major quite yet, but he is leaning towards the field of international business and management.

Squash Northland president Karen Dykzeul said the organisation couldn't be more happy for Trimble.

"We are very proud of him. He's done really well throughout the year so it's a great reward for him," he said.

"We have a lot of juniors coming through the ranks at the moment and it helps having a guy like Finn for them to look up to. He behaves really well on the court.

"He's a quietly confident young man and acts well off the court."

Northland has become a hotbed for junior squash talent, with 13 players ranked inside the top 16 in the country for their respective age groups.

Hayden Turner (sixth in boys) and Hayley Rhodes (ninth in girls) are top players in the under-11 grade.

Northland has four boys ranked in the under-13 division: Freddie Jameson (third), Campbell Griffin (tenth), Maz Saunders (11th) and Flyn Venmore (15th).

Riley-Jack Vette Blomquist leads the way for under-15 players in Northland at third in the boys' rankings. Devlin Gurr (13th) joins him on the list while Anna Moselen (13th) and Pippa Saunders (16th) are on the rise in the girls.

Annemarie Holst (seventh in under-17s) and Zoe Dykzeul (fifth in under-19s) are two more promising young female squash players.