CERYS Preston might be small in stature compared to her Stourport Hockey Club team-mates but the talented Worcester teenager is already making a big impression.

The 16-year-old forward scored for the first time for Stourport women’s firsts in their 5-0 victory over Isca University at the weekend.

The goal came in only her fourth appearance for the Investec Women’s Hockey League Conference West outfit as the Wales youth international continued to underline her potential.

After joining Worcester Hockey Club at the age of five, Preston worked her way up through the junior age groups and started playing adult hockey aged 13.

But, with dreams of one day playing for Olympic champions Great Britain, the King’s School pupil, who was Worcester’s junior player of the year in May, made the move to Stourport in the summer.

The switch has seen the teenager pit herself against players twice her age and even play alongside school teachers Sarah Parkinson-Mills and Lora Symonds.

But Preston’s mother Alex Brennan says her daughter, who recently turned 16 and is one of the youngest members of the Stourport squad, is relishing the challenge.

“Cerys is absolutely loving it,” she said.

“She trains twice a week with two-hour sessions and has really stepped up and is loving the challenge.

“She is usually a midfielder but she is playing as a forward as she has got quite a small build at the moment. But she is doing really well.”

As well as having the responsibility of captaining her school and county, Preston, whose grandmother Gill Preston played for England, has also competed on the international stage.

Due to her mother’s Welsh roots, Preston has represented the nation since the age of 14 and is now part of their under 18s team.

She has travelled with the national team to Holland, Switzerland and Lithuania, where she helped Wales secure silver in the EuroHockey5s U16 Championships in July.

Later that month, she flew to Gibraltar and achieved further success as the under 18s national side clinched promotion from the Youth Championship III.

Preston then played in the UK School Games in Loughborough in September before being named the junior female of the year at the City of Worcester Sports Awards.

The accolade capped off a stellar year for the youngster and her parents, Phil Preston and Alex Brennan, are keen to help her achieve her lofty dreams.

“Cerys is initially aiming for the Commonwealth Games with Wales,” said Brennan, whose 14-year-old son Owen Preston is part of Worcester Warriors’ development player pathway programme.

“I think Australia (in 2018) would be too soon as she’ll only be 17.

“She’d love to but the one after that in Durban, South Africa (in 2022), is a big aim.

“She also wants to be in the GB squad and one day play in the Olympics — that’s her ultimate dream.”