Profile of the Week - Tyler Osborne brings depth to Canadian junior program

Tyler Osborne knows the experience he will gain at the world junior championships will be important to Canada maintaining a strong showing on the international scene in the future.

Of the four-team members at these world juniors, the 16-year-old Osborne is the only one that wasn’t on the 2008 squad that placed an impressive seventh at the world juniors in Switzerland.

With a medal finish within its reach, Osborne is part of one of the strongest Canadian teams ever sent to this event.

"It's incredible to get selected to the team, without a doubt the highlight of my career so far,” said Osborne, who is from Kingston, Ont. “The experience I’ll get from being with my teammates and being part of the event will not only be good now but in future years as well." The selection to the world junior team caps a great season for Osborne. It all started in December with a victory in the under-17 division at the Canadian Junior Open in Montreal. He followed with more strong results in January at the U.S., British and Scottish Opens.

In April, he posted a fourth place in his under-19 debut at the Canadian junior championships. His three world junior team teammates – Andrew Schnell of Calgary, Nick Sachvie of St. Catharines, Ont., and Arjun Gupta of Toronto, finished 1-2-3 respectively,

"The biggest improvement in my game has been my defence," said Osborne. “I can cover the court a lot better now and I’m able to pick those one or two extra balls that I wouldn’t have been able to retrieve a year ago.” Osborne has been playing squash for as long as he can remember. Both his parents were competitive players and have transferred their love of the sport and physical fitness to their children.

"I play at lot of sports but nothing to the same degree as squash," said Osborne. "My parents taught me the importance of sport and exercise and pursuing your goals." At 16, Osborne is still undecided how far he wants to take his squash talents at the competitive level. His top priority is to pursue and complete a university education. Whether he becomes a professional player or not, it is likely, just like his parents, he will continue to practice and preach the benefits of the sport.