Scott and Jamie – Boccia UK

We’re going to give you some stats that are more important to us:

Scott was diagnosed at the age of 6 and Jamie was just 2. We were both diagnosed at the same time so it was a double shot of news for Mum and Dad and they say it was the hardest day of their lives. But, back then, they never could have imagined what a life we’ve all built for ourselves.

And it’s because we discovered boccia (which is pronounced ‘botcha’ by the way). You can play as an individual, a pair, or a team. You propel a ball and aim to get it closer to the jack (the white ball) than your opponent – it is a very strategic and tactical game. Some people throw the ball (Jamie originally did), but we used a ramp, a head pointer and had ramp assistants.

But we didn’t know anything about disability sport back then and we certainly didn’t know the Paralympics existed. In fact, at secondary school, Scott was given maths to do during PE lessons – that is, until Mum found out and went absolutely mad. But a coach – Claire Morrison – kept encouraging us to give it a go and eventually persuaded us to attend a Scotland squad training session. 

We weren’t overly keen straight away – it was definitely a slow burn! However, our eyes were opened when we went to our first UK competition – that’s when we realised we could compete and compete internationally! We are both hugely competitive so it fuelled that part of ourselves that we hadn’t really been able to do before. We never thought we’d have that opportunity.

One of our highlights must be competing at the Tokyo Paralympics – probably made even more special after having to shield from Covid for so long. Our first match was against each other and, because our parents were our ramp assistants, it meant all 4 of us were on court together.

We have both recently retired from competing and have since thrown ourselves into coaching the next generation. Boccia’s become such a big part of our life now, it is funny to think what would have happened if we hadn’t tried it out. But, honestly, I think we would have found something else because we’re both very driven people. 

We have travelled the world with boccia. You could live until you’re 90 and not go to all the places we’ve been. We’ve never really thought ‘why me?’ or felt sorry for ourselves.

But maybe that’s because boccia has given us such a purpose. Unless we received a significant amount of support, we wouldn’t be able to work in an office. So, boccia has filled our lives – we’d either be planning our travel arrangements, preparing for the next match or putting the practice in and always thinking how we could improve. And now we’re coaching and we feel much more nervous on the sidelines! It might not quite match that feeling of being on court and winning yourself, but to work with an athlete and help them achieve something is so very rewarding. It makes you feel proud to be part of that. 

Boccia has also introduced us to people with the same condition and it’s kept us fit, active and strong. In the GB squad, we have athletes with Duchenne – like us – but also other forms of muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, dystonia and arthrogryposis – and we all say how boccia benefits our conditions. With a condition like ours that is degenerative, it can help slow down its progressiveness.

I think when you’re faced with a diagnosis like our parents were, you can feel like you need to wrap your kids in cotton wool. And it’s understandable. But our parents always made us feel like we could do anything. They were quite stubborn and single-minded and it’s definitely rubbed off on us too. So our advice would be to find your passion, life your life and create your own statistics.

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Jamie: Twitter – @jamiemccowan3 

Scott Twitter @smccowan / IG @smccowan17