Think I'm turning into Mrs Grumpy!

Been a while since I posted up here - been working a lot more than normal to supplement family income and kids have been off school for last two weeks for the end of term break.

Spent most of today at son's soccer club presentation day. Now the season's finished it's nice to catch up with the team parents again, and good for the lads to catch up - plus of course it gets him away from the Playstation which is the bane of my life!!

The team's coach was away on hols at the end of the season so we had a standin and boy, what a difference! This guy was encouraging of the kids, focussed on what they were doing right, made good tactical decisions during matches, and several of the lads noticeably bloomed under his coaching! Real shame we can't persuade him to take over the position next year. The usual coach was almost the exact opposite, always focussing on what they'd done wrong in a game, constantly demoralising them, and frequently making some baffling decisions during matches which often seemed to mean the difference between winning or drawing a match and losing, such as taking off the strongest defender at a vital point, taking off two or three players at a time and replacing them with others with different playing styles, thus losing vital time while the team readjusted. I even started staying to watch training sessions after my son complained that the coach was swearing a lot and using languge that I really don't think is necessary to a team of 11 and 12 year olds.

Anyway, he's coached the team for three years now, and several of the lads are having second thoughts about coming back next season if he's going to be the coach again.

How do we tell him it's time for a rest?

At the presentation today, while we were waiting to go in for our turn, he asked all the lads who was coming back next year: one said - I'm doing AFL instead, another said he was a 'maybe' and my lad said "I'm a maybe too". This guy turned to my son and said "Don't be daft, you'll be back, no other team would want you!"

Now maybe this is his idea of a joke, maybe not, but I really think it was totally out of order. What a thing to say to a kid, in front of all his mates! It's really tempting to leave and find another club solely because of that comment, if it weren't for the fact that most of his mates all play here, and it's a great group of lads really, just let down by this total tosser of a coach.

OH said I should have said something but I'm never good of thinking of the right words at the time - later, sure, all comes to me, but never on the spot!

Need to think of a way to tell this guy he's totally out of order, without having to 'cut off our nose to spite our face'. Anyone any ideas??