ABSTRACT
One of the major challenges in an athlete’s career is the move from elite junior to senior levels of performance. Kennedy and Dimick (1987, cited by Parker, 1994) reported that in American inter-collegiate football and basketball, more than 60% of black athletes and almost 40% of white athletes anticipate professional careers, but only 2% of these college athletes actually attain a professional career. In squash, only about 20% of players who compete for England at junior international level subsequently compete for England at senior international level. In addition, many players who attain top ten rankings as juniors never make the same breakthrough at senior level. This highlights a transition phase in squash, as with many sports, where players from the elite junior category attempt to progress to senior levels of competition. The factors which distinguish between elite junior and senior competitors are poorly understood, but probably involve cultural, psychological and biological factors. With regards to playing performance, improvements in technical and tactical abilities are likely to occur and in addition this transition might also illustrate changes in physiological characteristics.
