Albert Steede's rapid rise up the squash ranks could see him representing Bermuda overseas.

Steede, more usually seen wielding a cricket bat, has only been playing the game for 12 months but this weekend reached the final of the Shell Divisional Handicap tournament run by Bermuda Squash Racquets Association.

He was unable to grab the glory, though, going down to newcomer Nick Wiffen in three games.

However, his exploits during a week in which he knocked out number two seed Tommy Sherratt have not gone unnoticed.

BSRA director of squash Ross Triffitt said an international call-up was a distinct possibility if Steede continued to progress at his current rate.

"Albert's had a fantastic tournament and he has beaten players a lot more skilful than himself," said Triffitt. "His willingness to tough it out and make life as difficult as possible for his opponents led to him beating some much better players."

The coach said Steede was by no means the finished article.

"He hasn't had a lot of exposure to coaching and some of the more technical aspects of the game," he said. "He has really got by on raw talent and from what he is perceiving himself.

"So now we are including him in our national training programme where he will be training for the Rose Bowl which is coming up in April next year. I think that will help him improve his performance technically."

Triffitt said Steede appeared determined to make a real success of his new love.

"He is very keen, very dedicated and is playing twice a day, early in the morning and then again in the afternoon," he said. "So he is working very hard on his game which is why he has made such great inroads so quickly."

Triffitt said Wiffen, recently arrived from England, was also one to watch.

"He is probably slotting in to be our fourth ranked player at the moment," he said. "But he is so new to the Island we are not sure what his limitations are. He could prove to be quite a bit better than the standard we see right now because he hasn't been playing too much and he is not really used to our conditions and our players.

"Potentially he could be one of our top players. I think only time will tell how rusty he is or whether it's a true indication of his standard."

Meanwhile, its all go at squash's Middle Road home. No sooner is one competition over than another starts.

"We have got such a busy programme that we are straight into our child/adult team tournament which is sponsored by BIAS. Play started on Sunday and runs every second Sunday through to November 4," said Triffitt.

There are two rounds then the tournament moves to a knockout format.

"All the teams that have finished top in their division will then be placed into a knockout pool and they will play each other in January in the finals," he said.

"The winner of tournament gets a $500 investment fund for the child so it's a very worthwhile event for the kids. It's also great because we get such good interaction between the adults and the children, it's a very nice family event."

Next up is the Sir Michael Edwards Doubles Tournament which is on October 24 and that is followed by a corporate team tournament in November.