Kelly Brown knew that to fulfil his life’s dream of captaining his country he had to control his lifelong stammer, but even when he conquered it and got the job, there was one more memorable instance left for him.
“The only time there was a slight issue as captain was in the Six Nations in 2013 and in the last game against France,” said Brown, who became a much-admired figurehead for the team on and off the pitch during his time as skipper.
“I was doing the coin toss and Thierry Dusatoir flipped the coin and I started trying to say ‘heads’, and the coin went up and started coming down, and I couldn’t get it out.
“Nigel Owens was the ref and the coin actually bounced and I hadn’t called. I think it was the only time in Six Nations history that they’ve had to do the coin toss twice!
“And when I called heads the second time, guess what it was? A tails, of course it was. And I have no problems saying tails, either…”
Now a coach at Glasgow, Brown has accepted the role as patron of the British Stammering Association this year to mark International Stammering Day, feeling he can give more attention to the role.
“It is really about trying to raise awareness,” he said. “We want to encourage stammerers to accept it as a part of themselves because it wasn’t until I actually did that that I was able to start controlling it.
“Also, we just want to get it out there to the public on a whole that it is a thing, and it is just the way that some people talk.”
The catalyst for Brown to face up to his stammer was a TV interview for a preview of the 2020 Six Nations after which he felt embarrassed and resolved to do something about it.
“In 2010-2011 I started to think that I could be a captain, but I was also aware that until I became in control of my speech that if I was the coach I probably wouldn’t have given me the job,” he said.
“I was in charge of my own future and if I was ever going to be Scotland captain it was up to me to control my speech.
“And so I worked incredibly hard on it and as a consequence I became confident about going into all the different situations – speaking in training, speaking in meetings, speaking to the press, speaking on TV – and that was because of the work I’d done.
“The aim is not just to become a fluent speaker but become an eloquent speaker – and that is still my aim, ten years on from going on the course that helped me. I’ve still got to speak in front of groups, so it forces me to keep on challenging myself and keep on moving forward.”
Role models are important especially for young stammerers, and while Brown has been a prominent figure, former Vice President and now Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is an even more visible example.
“He’s been getting a bit of criticism for how’s he done on the presidential campaign trail because he’s stammered a couple of times,” said Brown. “But as a fellow stammerer it’s amazing to see him in control of his speech most of the time.
“I don’t think you should ever let anything hold you back and that was the point I got to in 2010. I was fed up of having an excuse as to why I can’t do this thing.
“I understood it was up to me to work hard on it and control it. And I felt confident that if I could do that, I could achieve whatever I wanted to achieve.
“And it’s the same now that I’ve stepped into the coaching world. I know if I work hard on my speech and on my coaching I feel it’s up to me to achieve what I can.”
Meanwhile Glasgow have had one positive Covid-19 test among their squad, but the case has been isolated and their game against Ospreys in Swansea on Saturday will go ahead as planned.
“It’s only one player that has been affected or has tested positive,” said Brown. “We followed all of the protocols, we’re confident we isolated all of the necessary players, now we’re just focusing as best we can on going down to Swansea on Saturday.”
