James Stout and Nick Kyme are set to enter squash's professional ranks.

The announcement comes after a terrific year for the Bermudian pair with Kyme representing the Island at the Commonwealth Games and Stout turning out for Bermuda at the senior level at the Pan American Championships in Ecuador.

Kyme (21) will make the step up next month while his 18-year-old compatriot leaves the amateur ranks behind in January.

"It's the next step for James," said Ross Triffitt, Bermuda's director of squash. "In August of next year he will be required to play senior events as he won't be in the juniors any more.

"By turning professional in January it means he has the opportunity to get some points and build a base so that he has got a good starting point when he moves out of the juniors."

Stout, who has been at school in England, has been the driving force behind the move said Triffitt.

"Ultimately he is the one that had to make the decision about what he wanted to do," he said. "He is the one that set his goals, we are merely here to guide him along and help him achieve them.

"As soon as he made the decision that he wanted to turn professional we were more than happy to put those stepping stones in place and explain to him what he would have to do and get him started."

After next month's CAC Games, where Stout will be part of the Bermuda team, the teenager embarks on a journey that will see him take part in the Canadian Junior Open, US Junior Open, Scottish Junior Open and the British Junior Open.

"He has got quite a heavy schedule with the CAC Games coming up and then all these junior events he will be playing," said Triffitt. "That is a good springboard for when he gets involved in professional competitions in the New Year."

Triffitt, a former Australian doubles champion and national and state representative, is no fool when it comes to spotting a star of the future and believes Stout is full of promise.

"He has raw talent and has achieved some good results perhaps without real hard work," he said, adding that school had been the priority up until this point. "The fact he is playing at the level he is and has achieved the junior Caribbean titles that he has without really knuckling down and doing some hard work is a very positive sign of his level of talent and ability.

"He has now been given the opportunity to really focus on it and do all the training that is necessary."

Stout is working with a personal trainer three times a week and has coaching sessions for the same period.

"We are really going to push him to see how far he can get," said Triffitt. "I think there is a lot of potential that hasn't been tapped into yet - when he gets stronger, gets technically better he could potentially move up a few more levels."

Kyme, meanwhile, has been the Island's top player for some time and has impressed both on the international stage and the US collegiate circuit.

"He has been our strongest player by far for the last two years and has dominated the national championships so it's really the next step for him," said Triffitt. "Recently he has made the semi-finals of the inter collegiate championships in the US where he was competing not just against US citizens but also against players from some of the stronger nations in the world such as South Africa, England and Canada."

Triffitt said Kyme performance's at the Pan American Championships, where he held his own against a player already proven on the tour, also contributed to his decision.

"I think that gave him some confidence in his ability to play at that level," he said.

"It's a logical step for him to turn professional and to pursue it as far as he can. It would have been disappointing if he had decided to turn to a different career when he is on the fringe of perhaps doing something very good in squash."

Though three years older than Stout, Triffitt said Kyme still had some development ahead of him.

"He is only 21 so there is still a good six or seven years where he will be improving and reaching towards his peak," he said.

Triffitt said while both players were capable of putting the Island on the map, they were under no illusion as to the enormity of their task.

"You need to have a fantastic team supporting you. It is a real financial burden to begin with," he said. "Squash, while it has one of the highest participation rates in the world, perhaps doesn't have the big bucks in the major events that other sports such as tennis have.

"It is very difficult to earn a good living from it and does really take a lot of time to build a ranking and get yourself into a position where the money starts to come in to cover the expenses."