Calgary Journal Online

When asked about his motivation to play squash, Andrew Schnell can narrow it all down to one single moment early in his life

Looking up on the wall at his local gym to the row of pictures of the top players and he wondered how he could get up there.

Andrew Schnell during a competition earlier this year.

Photo courtesy of Kyle Clapham.

Even though he has won the majority of his games thus far in his career, Schnell reflects on how things haven't come easily to him.

His regular day starts off at 7 a.m. and includes no less than five hours of training daily. And of course there is school – having been home-schooled from grades one to 12, Schnell is now attending the University of Calgary to study philosophy and law; the latter being the backup plan if things don't work out with squash.

But he certainly does not think about ending his career just yet. In fact the opposite would be the case. When he turns 18 in November, things are going to be different in Schnell´s professional game.

Having won every championship in the junior category, he will move on to play with the "big boys" on the Senior Men´s National Team. This is a transition he is eagerly looking forward to. Playing his last junior year in 2010, Schnell made of point of capitalizing on it and preparing himself for his next move.

"It's going to be a different type of game but I'm ready," he says confidently. And Schnell has set the bar very high for himself: "I want to be the best squash player ever."

It's a goal his coach Jonathan Hill, who also trains the Junior Men´s National Team, is in great favor of.

"Andrew has been transitioning over the last two years," said Hill about Schnell's preparation for the big change. And he believes in his protégée: "I'm getting 110 per cent out of Andrew every time he comes for a training session."

With these big plans in mind, Andrew looks up to many players who have reached that point already. His real idol however, is no not surprisingly the World No. 1 tennis player, Roger Federer.

Another person holding significant influence on Andrew and his goal, is his older brother Graeme.

A squash player himself, he understands the pressures of the game and says of Andrew: "He is a truly amazing athlete and his work ethic is impeccable."

The two practice together regularly. This is a precious time for Andrew, as his busy schedule leaves him with hardly any time for family, friends or even a girlfriend.

Schnell has already made it to the wall of photos that caught his attention when he was 10. But, for him, it's only the beginning of a much longer journey.