Bermuda's junior squash players have returned to the Island from Guyana with their heads held high having finished third overall in the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships in Georgetown.

The boys, in particular, made their mark by reaching the final of team event.

Such a strong showing in the final standings was even more impressive given that Bermuda were without a full girls team, who finished fifth out of six under difficult circumstances.

Although the tournament was dominated by the lanky frame of 18-year-old James Stout, who did not concede a game throughout the two weeks, the event was punctuated by a number of heroic Bermudian victories which, according to the seedings, had no right to take place.

Tour manager and Director of Squash at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, Ross Triffit, was delighted with the overall performance of his young charges.

"I was very pleased with the entire boys squad down in Guyana," he said.

"Although we expected James to run riot, so many of the other players from Michael Shrubb to Robert Maycock to Iain Redford all caused major upsets over the course of the tournament. They should all be very proud of themselves."

According to Triffitt, the highlight of the team tournament was the epic pool stage victory over number one seeds Barbados, which was down in no small part to the performance of Shrubb. In the Under-17 category, despite being the clear underdog, he defeated the highly-rated Bajan Rhett Cumberbatch 3-1 in front of a large, noisy crowd.

"The whole match hinged on Michael winning because we knew that Stout would win in the under 19s. And he pulled it off, playing absolutely out of his skin. It was a hugely courageous victory which lifted the entire squad. It was so emotionally charged that everybody was in tears afterwards," said Triffit.

Bermuda went on to beat Jamaica 4-1 in the semi-finals, despite an inferior seeding, before losing to a strong Guyana team the next day.

Triffitt conceded that they knew that they were going to be up against it in the final.

"We were definitely not anticipating a win. But saying that we had had a good tournament up until then and everybody was fired up and playing well so we were not just going there to lose."

Understandably, the Australian coach was keen to talk about the all conquering performances of James Stout in Guyana, who dominated the event like few before him. Although Triffitt was lavish in his praise, he warned that at 18, Stout was still young and inexperienced and would have to carry on improving if he wanted to make a name for himself beyond the narrow confines of the Caribbean region.

"James was absolutely outstanding down there," he said.

"It is very nice to see that all the hard work with him is starting to pay off. There was nobody in the Caribbean in his age group who could touch him as a player but we are now looking for him to kick on and to challenge (Bermuda's number one and two seeds) Gary Plumstead and Nick Kyme."

"Nobody has ever doubted his racquet skills," Triffit continued, "but there is no question that he has mentally and physically come on leaps and bounds since he came back from his time in Belgium. He also did a great job of firing everybody up in Guyana in his role as team captain which proves he has developed not just as a player, but as a person."

"I'm sure that if he keeps on working hard, he can only get better."

Stout is now in training with the rest of the men's first team squad, who are currently busy preparing to compete in the senior Caribbean Championships in Barbados at the end of August.