OLYMPIC bronze medallist Chloe Rogers re-joined her old club for a very special appearance during training on Sunday.

Blue Hornets Hockey Club, youth section for Dunmow and Braintree’s Phoenix HC, welcomed Rogers - who won a bronze medal with the Team GB ladies hockey team - as she joined in with training at their Felsted ground.

The Olympian then went on to give an inspirational speech about her road to success, from mini-league player at Dunmow and the Helena Romanes School, to national indoor champion, and finally participating at the London Olympics.

The children were then treated to a Q&A session, where Rogers gave inside information on her experiences at the 2012 Games, along with expert advice to the club’s prospective Olympic champions of tomorrow.

Many of Hornets’ aspiring players are already following in her footsteps, as the club frequently provides candidates for county and regional teams. The children were enthused to hear how Rogers’ dedication led to her representing her country 168 times.

The club is now privileged to be in possession of the Chloe Rogers Cup.

“I am very honoured it is in my name,” said Rogers. “I’m very proud to say I came from here and this is where I started my hockey and very proud to be back here.”

The trophy will be awarded to the club’s player of the season, for hard work, improvement, team play and dedication.

Club chairman Charlie Fillingham said: “It was so good of Chloe to join us for the morning. We’re proud to have an Olympian as a former member and look forward to many more of our upcoming stars following in her footsteps.”

The Team GB star then posed for photos with every team, chatting with the players throughout and signing autographs. Some of the very lucky ones even had an opportunity to wear the Olympic medal.

Blue Hornets is one of the largest and most successful youth clubs for hockey in Essex, with teams at U8, U10, U12 and U14 levels. Sunday training takes place on the astroturf pitches at Felsted School, with matches played at various locations across the region.

The U8 boys are currently Alliance League Champions, U12 boys Essex Champions and U10 boys Essex and East Regional Champions.

• If you would like to give hockey a go then get in touch via the club’s website, bluehornetshc.co.uk.