Tom Brown is a former Scotland Rugby union player. His impressive career highlights include over 100 caps for Edinburgh Rugby and caps for Scotland and Scotland 7’s. While Tom had a clear long-term career ambition to become an airline pilot when his playing days came to an end, the journey to get there has not been without its challenges. Tom’s first encounter with Switch the Play Foundation as a player came at just the right time and resonated with him so deeply that his journey took the unusual route from being a beneficiary of the charity to becoming part of the team on the road to qualifying as a pilot.
Tom started playing rugby at just 6 years old when his parents took him along to join North Berwick Minis, where he immediately showed promise. He progressed through the school ages and on leaving school was offered a contract with the Scottish National Academy, where he spent 2 years in the Under 20’s squad which included being capped at two Junior World Cups in Japan and Argentina. After this he went on to secure his first professional contract with Edinburgh Rugby. As a local boy, this was a dream come true for Tom and he feels privileged to have spent a decade at the club.
Tom was coming to the end of his time at Edinburgh Rugby when he first encountered Switch the Play. He attended a Masterclass through the Scottish Rugby Union on ‘Transferable Skills and Maximising Your Network’ delivered by Leon Lloyd and Kieron Achara.
I took so much away from those sessions, but what stuck with me the most was the charity itself and the amazing work they did. So, I applied the networking skills I learnt during the workshop, took Leon’s contact details and kept connected. I became a SwitchedOn member and the charity was a great support to me through the years that followed.
Tom then went on to gain a two-year contract with Scotland 7s – an opportunity he relished. It gave him the opportunity to travel the world playing the game he loved. All was going smoothly, but 6 months into that contract, the Covid pandemic hit and international sport ceased.
The Pandemic was tough, especially for 7s Players. The World Sevens Circuit was quickly cancelled that season and we didn’t play beyond Vancouver. By the second half of my contract, rugby had started again but there was still no 7s. I was invited to join Glasgow Warriors but didn’t get on the field to play that entire year. It was frustrating – I was essentially a bag holder and there was no other rugby to play. This is when I knew the time was right to seriously pursue my career after rugby.
Tom was 30 years old by this point so it was during this challenging year that his focus started really shifting towards his future. “Rugby had always been a big part of my life, and still is even now I’ve stopped playing, but I was always conscious that there would be an end point. I needed rugby not to be my sole identity to support my transition out of sport. I was always aware of that.”
While Tom was still playing rugby, he developed a passion for flying and had long been developing an interest in becoming a pilot once his playing days were over.
“I could see a lot of correlations between my rugby career and life as a pilot –in particular the lifestyle and travel. I always enjoyed travelling as a rugby player so becoming a pilot excited me.” His biggest influence was his great friend, teammate and former Scotland Captain Stuart McInally. He too had always wanted to be a pilot and this got Tom interested. Stuart encouraged Tom to go on an experience flight to see if it was for him. He did so, he loved it and he never looked back.
Learning from his support from Switch the Play, Tom knew that he needed to work hard to create the pathway to transition from Rugby to becoming a pilot and it wouldn’t be easy. He got a part-time contract with Boroughmuir Bears, which enabled him to taper off from Rugby and start focussing on his commercial airline training at the same time.
I always knew that financially I needed to continue to work whilst transitioning away from sport so the income I got through part-time rugby supported me during my flight training.
The initial phase of commercial flight training was intense. 9 to 5 in the classroom and studying in the evenings and weekends, let alone the 13 exams – managing part-time rugby plus intensive study was challenging but at the same time Tom reflected that doing the two things together helped “Still playing rugby got me through this time and it kept me physically active. Managing both was challenging and took some time to adapt.”
It was around this time that an opportunity came up with Switch the Play Foundation to sit on the Athlete Services Advisory Board, a voluntary role. “I knew it was really important for young players to focus on their lives outside of sport, and I wanted to help.” He did this for about 18 months, and just at the time he made the decision to look after his body and hang up the boots for good, a part-time role with Switch the Play Foundation as Athlete Engagement Manager came up, which Tom successfully applied for.
I am so incredibly grateful to Switch the Play and the work it does. From the outside it looks like I’ve gone from beneficiary to exec team member, but I have learned so much I still consider myself to be a beneficiary of the charity as well. The opportunity has 100% supported me on my own transition – I’ve learned so much. I am still that transitioning sports person, I’m still going through it myself. I’m still going through training and looking for that first airline job. Switch the Play has been a massive part of my journey and continues to be. I’m very grateful to be here.
What advice would Tom give to other professional sportspeople still in the middle of their career? “Playing professional sport is a privilege that most people will never experience. It’s also an opportunity to work on yourself. Some of my biggest achievements during my rugby career was gaining my Degree and Private Pilot License whilst still playing. There were some difficult times as a player. Injuries are part of professional sport, but having my Degree to focus on during those times was really helpful. I was advised early on in my career that if you work on yourself outside sport, it’s proven that you can become better at your discipline, and I took that on board. I knew I wanted to be the best I could be at rugby, so I worked on myself outside of it and I’ve always lived by that.”
My other advice would be to build your network. If there’s a career you're interested in, create networks, reach out to people, ask for work experience, try before you buy. When you play professional sport people are interested in you and want to meet you and ask you questions! If you leave it until after you’ve finished, you’re not so interesting to them. Make the most of it when you can because when sport is taken away from you it can be harder.
"Finally if you need support, don’t be afraid to ask for it – reach out to organisations like Switch the Play who exist to support you."