For Micah Franklin there was no looking back after he played his first game of squash in gym class at the age of ten.

Now 17, Micah has crammed more squash-related achievements into his short career than most could hope for in a lifetime.

"Squash just seemed to come naturally to me and it is something that I love to do," said Micah. "I excelled right away at it and would stay after class so that I could have a hit everyday."

And it seems Micah's competitive spirit comes naturally to him as well. "When I first started taking squash lessons there were six or seven other boys in the class with me," he said.

"Even though we were all still learning, I made it my goal to beat everyone else and I did."

And his competitiveness has served Micah well over the years. When many of his friends went away to school between the ages of 12 and 13, Micah says he stayed behind and trained hard. "That was the turning point for me," he said.

At the age of 13 Micah travelled abroad to compete in his first international tournament, the Junior US Open at Yale University in New Jersey. According to Micah it was at the age of 14 that he began "to take squash very seriously".

That year he went to Jamaica to compete in the Caribbean Area Squash Association tournament (CASA) in Jamaica.

While Micah didn't place exactly where he had hoped in the tournament, it was his win against a Jamaican player that gave the Bermuda Team the top spot in the competition.

His next major tournament was another CASA event but this time in the British Virgin Islands. "I was 14 at the time and came fourth overall in the under 15s," said Micah. "But that is when things changed for me and I started beating almost everyone I knew."

Now training six days a week and competing in tournaments locally and abroad, Micah had become the No.1 ranked squash player in Bermuda for his age group.

Micah recently competed for the Bermuda Junior National Title in squash an placed first, solidifying his position as No.1 in his age group.

And while squash is something that seems to come naturally, Micah knows that talent will not get him everything hard work and determination are just as important.

"Practice makes perfect, train hard, try your best, give 110 percent and you can succeed," he said.