Why I Wrote On The Ball

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If you’d asked me a few years ago if I’d end up writing football-themed mindfulness books, I probably would’ve laughed. But here I am.

Many of you know, that in addition to teaching adults, I’m also a qualified children’s mindfulness & yoga teacher, and a mum to two very football-mad boys. For years, I could teach loads of other children amazing tools to calm their nerves, manage big feelings and build confidence…but my own boys? No interest. At all. They loved football. They lived for football. But traditional mindfulness with Mum? Absolutely not.

It was honestly so frustrating, because I knew how powerful these tools were, and my boys needed them so much. They had little regulation, would get easily frustrated, and often struggled to manage big emotions. I wanted them to have access to the skills I was teaching other children, but getting them to actually engage felt impossible.

Fast forward to now, and it’s a completely different story. They take ownership of their own wellbeing, asking to do their breathing exercises, noticing when they’re getting overwhelmed, and starting to use the tools to reset themselves. Seeing that transformation has been incredibly rewarding, and it’s exactly what inspired me to create On The Ball for other children too.

The Lightbulb Moment ⚽

Before I became a kids’ yoga teacher, I took a qualification in young children’s mental health when my boys were little, mainly to help me support them. The statistics completely shocked me and opened my eyes to just how big a children’s mental health crisis we were facing in this country. That’s really what led me into this work in the first place – I felt a strong pull to help.

Years later, one simple thought changed everything. Professional footballers use the exact same mindset tools we use in yoga. My boys wanted to be professional footballers. So I thought… what if I wrapped these tools inside football instead of calling it “mindfulness”?

And just like that, they were interested. They listened. They practised. They used the tools.
And soon, other local boys who’d never engaged with traditional mindfulness before were suddenly all in too. That’s when I knew On The Ball needed to exist.

What On The Ball Is All About

On The Ball is a football-themed children’s book series for kids aged around 6–10, created to help them build:

• Confidence
• Emotional resilience
• A positive mindset
• And simple tools to support their mental wellbeing

One thing I was very intentional about when writing these books was keeping the message clear and direct. The story is there to pull children in and keep them engaged, but underneath it, the real focus is on the practical tools. These are techniques children can actually use in real life, not just ideas to read about. I wanted parents to know that while it reads like a story, it’s also quietly teaching skills that genuinely support emotional wellbeing.

The First Book: The Champion’s Mindset

The first book, On The Ball: The Champion’s Mindset, follows Max, a young footballer who struggles with:

• Nerves
• Self-doubt
• Big emotions
• And the pressure to perform

Through football and everyday challenges, he learns things like:

⚽ Positive self-talk
⚽ Visualisation
⚽ The power of “yet”

It gently shows children that confidence isn’t something you’re born with, it’s something you build.

You can find The Champion’s Mindset on Amazon here:
👉 https://amzn.to/4iNZjgy

Who These Books Are For

These books are for:

• Football-loving kids with big feelings
• Children who struggle with pressure or confidence
• Kids who don’t always engage with traditional mindfulness
• Parents who want to support emotional wellbeing alongside an active life

A Mum, A Teacher, and a First-Time Author

I should probably also say, I’d never written a children’s story before this. I worked closely with a wonderful, best-selling children’s author who believed in me and my mission, and guided me through the craft of storytelling.

It’s been a huge learning curve, occasionally terrifying, often challenging, and one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.  And this journey is only just beginning….

My Big Hope 💛

My biggest hope is that these stories help children feel:

• More confident
• Less overwhelmed
• And stronger inside

And that they learn, early on, that they already have what they need within them, they just sometimes need the tools explained in a language they understand.

Thank you so much for supporting something that began as one frustrated mum trying to reach her own football-mad boys, and turned into something so much bigger 💛