Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Former GB captain knows true value of his sport
Steve Brown says wheelchair rugby has helped make him the person he is and he is determined to give as many people as possible the chance to see if the sport can change their lives. The former Great Britain wheelchair rugby skipper called time on his international playing career last year but continues to get a buzz from the game, coaching Canterbury Rugby Club’s successful Hellfire squad. Under Brown’s guidance, the team won promotion last year and are chasing another in 2017 – not bad considering the 35-year-old initially only went in to help get them started. Brown, who led GB to a fifthplace finish at London 2012, said: “It was a real honour to be asked to come along to Canterbury when they started up their own wheelchair rugby team. “They asked me to come and help coach the first four sessions to get a little bit of momentum behind it. “I’d sat different coaching courses and do a lot of mentoring but it was the first time I was head coach of anything. “I’d like to think that I understand enough about the sport to be able to do that and it’s about making it fun. “It’s the same with anything, you’ve got to enjoy what you do before you can be good at it. “What I wanted to do was to let them enjoy it but as the team developed, there was no way I could leave it after those first four training sessions because my heart was in it.” Brown says few of the players had experienced the sport before but they proved quick learners and now three of them – Ollie Mangion, Harry Langley and David Barber – are on the GB development programme. Brown added: “The truth is they (the players) were fresh out of a box, these were people who had never played wheelchair rugby before in their lives. “There was a young lad with CP (cerebral palsy) another fellow with a spinal injury and others who had amputations. “It was a real mixed bag but this is what sport does and wheelchair rugby, in particular, brings people together and those disabilities and things that other people might see as issues, they’re overshadowed by the fact of how inclusive the game is. “We had six at the first sessions and they were like rabbits in the headlights, nervous and didn’t know what was going on. “They reminded me of my first training session but when I saw them smiling and starting to understand and enjoy the sport, it enthused me and I wanted to keep giving them that. “Then they went from enjoying the sport to becoming good at the sport and now we’re a competitive team.” Participation levels in the sport are up significantly since London 2012 but Brown remains puzzled that Canterbury – the county’s only wheelchair club – can’t recruit more players. At the moment, they operate with a squad of just 10. Brown added: “When I first started playing wheelchair rugby 11 years ago I’d say I play wheelchair rugby and people would say ‘What’s that? Now you say you play wheelchair rugby and people say ‘what murderball?’ “People know what it is now and I don’t understand. It’s not like Kent is a small place or that Canterbury hasn’t got people with disabilities living there. “I refuse to believe there are only 10 people in Kent who can play wheelchair rugby yet they just don’t come. “We advertise where we can and do what we can in terms of social media. I use my position within the media as well to get things like TV programmes to come and film at training.” The age range of the Canterbury team is 16 to 52, with both men and women playing and Brown says there is a place in the sport for everyone, regardless of their fitness levels or ability. He said: “The catchment could not be wider and within that we make sure that at training, there is a place for everybody. “I coach and teach everyone who wants to learn to whatever level they want to play at. “Wheelchair rugby breaks that mould of what people think and expect from disability and particularly people in wheelchairs. “There’s a massive pathway and that’s why I take so much pride in it because I know the sport has helped me with my own confidence. “It’s helped me with my social etiquette, with my strength and fitness and that translates into everything else that you do. If you play wheelchair rugby it doesn’t matter how old you are, what gender you are, what you want out of life. There’s room for you in the sport.”
Canterbury’s wheelchair squad train at the Canterbury High sports centre on Wednesdays 6-9pm, and Sundays 1-4pm. New players are welcome. Further details may be obtained from Brian Pitchford on 07543 210466 or at brianpitch@ sky.com
‘It doesn’t matter what you want out of life, there’s room for you in the sport’