Potters Bar athlete Kenny Howard admits being selected in the Great British Bob Skeleton development team was a great achievement.

The 22-year-old has only been in the sport for six months after taking part in a programme aimed at identify British between the ages of 15 and 26 years old.

Power2Podium is a scheme that attempts to find a new wave of Olympic champions. After going through tests of speed, power and strength Howard was chosen to participate in the skeleton bob.

After five phases the final stage saw the squad travel to Norway to tackle the Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track.

Having no previous experience on a real track, Howard said he was nervous before his first run.

He said: “It was very nerve racking and scary. We started at corner four and they pushed us off. You can’t prepare for something like that so once I had done it I felt pleased.

“It was very difficult but as soon as I had got it out of the way I wanted to get back and do it again. It was an experience that gave me a different look at life.”

After being pushed from the fourth corner the squad’s rapid development continued. By the end of the second camp they were doing full runs including proper starts.

During the summer the 22-year-old will continue to practice at the push track in Bath while undertaking a strength and conditioning programme.

He, and the rest of the squad, will be returning to Lillehammer in October before travelling to Lake Placid in America and Winterberg in Germany.

Howard said that while he is growing in confidence, travelling to different courses will bring new challenges.

“Every track has different corners and different things that you can’t really prepare for, but are still nerves.

“We have only been to Lillehammer so far so when we go to the other tracks then it will be a case of having to deal with different and difficult corners.”

After a season training the squad will then embark in their first races. While Howard admits it will be a different test for the athletes, he believes the natural competitiveness of the squad will stand everyone in good stead.

He said: “It will be different but there is already a competitive edge in the squad. So that will probably help when we make the transition.”

“As a squad we are aiming at the 2018 winter Olympics. We will have to see how things go in the first season though.

“If it goes well and I made the 2014 games in Sochi then that would be a great achievement for me.

“But, as a squad, we are looking to peak at 2018.”