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      Acknowledgements

      I love you Jerry, Holly, Josh and Ben. Thank you for welcoming Arty into our family. You are the very best team I could ever wish for, and thanks to you I am making this dream come true.

      Simon, you are a brilliant, creative and inspirational artist. You are a true friend. Your strength and humour have kept me going in the maze. Thank you, Phill, for bringing Simon’s wonderful illustrations to life in such a colourful, vibrant and imaginative way.

      Gill, Elaine, Sarah, Tree, Tom T, Tom S, Kate, Becky, Matt, Bernadette, Iara, Nancy and Leonora – thanks for joining “Team Arty” and sharing your time, energy, enthusiasm, professional expertise and fantastic ideas.

      I am indebted to Claire Purcell and everyone at Dulwich Hamlet Junior School who has made Arty possible.

      With a very special thank you to Joshua, Jason, Anna, Leonora, Mimmo, Hettie, Alexei, Rocco, Freya, Ava Mae, Nancy H, Adam, Nancy R, Greta and Emily who are sharing their own Super Coach drawings with us in this book.

      With thanks to all the children it has been my privilege to coach over the years. You have all taught me so much. This book is packed full of your brilliant and practical ideas. You are the real experts. You have all played an important part in the creative process and helped Arty to develop and grow.

      Super Coach Arty is only here because of my editor, James Cherry at Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Thanks for your vision, James, and for believing in Arty. It’s been good fun working with you and I appreciate the support, advice and expertise that you have given me at every step of our journey.

      My life changed forever today.

      Have you noticed how often adults lose the plot and behave in an unreasonable way? Take my mum. I love her, but she can be difficult. It’s Monday morning and, with no warning, she comes crashing into my dreams firing instructions. She repeats herself. And she’s speaking so quickly it’s like she’s pressed her own fast-forward button.

      “Come on. Time to get up. Only forty-five minutes before we have to leave.” She needs to relax. A whole forty-five minutes! Parents have weird ideas about time. Always rushing and planning. No wonder they’re stressed.

      Mum’s also developed this habit of asking me questions and then answering them herself. Here she goes!

      “Do you know where your PE kit is? You need to be in early for basketball practice. No, of course you don’t. I’ll have to find it.”

      “What do you want for breakfast? You’ve got that big maths test today. You’d better have something. Are you worried about the test? There’s nothing to worry about. Just make sure you don’t panic.”

      Well, when an adult tells you not to worry, you know it IS time to panic! I’m rubbish at maths. I know Mum is trying to make me feel better, but she’s only making it worse. My heart sinks.

      It’s not just maths. Whenever I get asked a question in class the same thing happens. My mind turns to mush and my body turns to jelly. Even if I know the answer – it’s locked inside me.

      The day stretches ahead of me like a prison sentence. I could really do with some help to get me through this one.

      I can help. I hear a quiet whisper. Asking for help is the first step.

      Oh no. Now I’m hearing strange noises. It’s going to be one of those days.

      I’m your Super Coach. I’m inside your head. Only you can hear me.

      What are you talking about? What kind of coach? A sports coach?

      Sort of. But the game I’m coaching you for is your life. My team rules are simple: make a difference, achieve your personal best – and have fun, of course.

      How do I know you are real?

      Make your own mind up on that one.

      I mean…what do you look like?

      Nothing yet. I’m inside your head so you get to decide. Use your imagination. Think about something you enjoy and create me.

      Well, playing frisbee is always fun. Love my music, that’s a possibility. Or maybe one of my favourite animals? What about a puppy or monkey…or hedgehog?

      I’m your Super Coach. You can choose.

      I really haven’t got time for this…

      Hang on, I’ve got it. I love basketball and drawing. Here we go – I’ll call you Super Coach Arty. And here are a couple of pets to keep you company.

      Super Coach Arty. I like that.

      It’s no good, you won’t be able to help me. I know I’m going to fail the test this afternoon. Even a Super Coach can’t help me succeed. Success is about getting everything right – right?

      Wrong! Success is about doing your best. I don’t judge your success and failure in terms of a score, a grade or a number on a piece of paper.

      Well you’re out of touch then. You have no idea how tough it is being me. I’m under pressure all the time to get top marks. My parents will be so disappointed in me if I don’t do well. They’ll say it doesn’t matter, but I know it does. I don’t want to let anyone down.

      Maybe we can change the way you feel about that. Arty’s voice is quiet now.

      Shaking my head, I wolf down my toast and dash out of the door. Walking along the road, I hear a booming voice, and I sense a familiar shadow following me.

      It grows taller as I walk, and my fear vibrates between my ears. “What if I fail badly? What if I get easy questions wrong? They’ll laugh at me. How disappointed will Mum and Dad be? I’m so rubbish at maths.”

      Now listen up. Your fear of failure is common. I can help you with it.

      I can just about hear Arty’s voice above the racket.

      “You’re wasting your time, Arty,” I reply.

      Glad you mentioned time. Whenever you feel stressed today, I’ll say “time out.” But you must concentrate to hear me.

      What good will that do?

      My “time out” will remind you that you always have choices, even when stuff that you don’t like happens. It will give you time and space to decide how you want to respond.

      Arty’s voice is a little louder now.

      It’s normal to feel worried sometimes. When you do, worry comes charging into your brain like

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