COACH Kellie Chapman admits she is experiencing an adrenaline rush every bit as potent as when she performed at the top level for Great Britain - and small wonder.

Chapman was a wide-eyed five-year-old when she twisted the arm of her surprised mum to take her to King Edmund Gym Club for an introductory session way back in the mid-1980s.

Little did she know that she would go on to achieve British Championships success as part of a trio with Helen Snell and Hannah Williams little more than a decade later, and go on to compete for Great Britain around the world as a consequence.

With a wealth of know-how as a competitor to draw on, 30-year-old Chapman is now preparing three of her young protégés for international stardom from within the impressive confines of the King Edmund club’s Sports Shed centre at Armstrong Way in Yate, where they continue to unearth and cultivate top national and international talents.

Among them are Tayler Porter, Hannah Palmer and Libby Britton, who are set to fly out to Poland in a few days’ time to compete for Great Britain at the European Championships as a trio in the 11-16 category, the culmination of more than a year’s arduous training in preparation for the biggest event of their young lives.

Chapman has been a key driving force behind their meteoric rise and she smiled cautiously: “We’ve got high hopes for them, although Tayler has been struggling a bit with a foot injury.

“It’s put us a little behind schedule but she’s determined to overcome it and I’m confident she will.

“It’s very exciting times, for them and for me. I did a lot of work with Shanie-Redd (Thorne) and Kaman (Mitchell) when they won the World Championships a couple of years ago.

“I love the challenges of coaching, playing a part in trying to keep the amazing success going here. I loved competing and I look back with a lot of satisfaction at the year Helen, Hannah and myself finished fourth for Great Britain at the World Championships in Hawaii, having won gold together in the British Championships at Manchester around the same time (1996).

“I know what it’s like for our young gymnasts; you do have to make a lot of sacrifices and watch what you eat. I remember training virtually every day and Nikki (Thorne), my coach, would turn up during dinner hour at King Edmund School to give me extra training!

“It could be tough, being an ordinary teenager wanting to do ordinary things, but then I got to travel the world and see things I would otherwise never have done.”

Chapman recalled: “I first set foot through the door of King Edmund’s when I was five. My mum wanted me to do majorettes in Chipping Sodbury but I wanted to do gymnastics!

“I went on to form one half of a pairing with Rachel Morgan and we competed in competitions around the world until I was 18, when unfortunately an injury ended my career.

“Thankfully by then I was already into the coaching side and I haven’t looked back since.

“When I first finished I missed it big time and I needed to have a break to get my head around the fact I couldn’t do these things anymore.

“But the coaching gives me a real buzz; it can provide a real rollercoaster of emotions. As a competitor you feel in control, but as a coach you can only prepare them - you’re helpless once they get out there.

“You need to be a shoulder to lean on too and it’s nice my gymnasts feel they can talk to me; it reminds me of ‘me’ when I was in their position.”