"Mum, I don't understand why he won't play me." It was a familiar lament to Chantelle, whose teenage son, Oliver, had once again been overlooked for a starting place on his local soccer team.
All Mums wanted their sons to be happy and by not playing, she knew that Oliver was not. Unlike other parents, however, Chantelle had seen her son in action and knew enough about the game to realise that he had reasonable grounds for complaint.
Unlike other Mums - and certainly other Dads - she was prepared to do something about it.
"You go on ahead, sweetie," she told Oliver. It was only half a mile to walk home and he was used to doing it. "I'll go back and talk to the coach. What's his name?"
"Rob," Oliver replied. "You know he almost made it professionally. He'll only tell you that you don't know what you're talking about."
"But I do know what I'm talking about," Chantelle replied, smiling to herself at how naive her son was being, although it was best he didn't know what she was thinking of.
"Whatever."
"Okay, see you later," Chantelle said as she turned to go back to the park where not five minutes earlier it had been a hubbub of noise and activity as various junior teams were put through their paces.
Much quieter now, she spotted Rob as she re-entered the park, nodding politely to a couple walking their dog who lived a few doors down from her. He was joking around with another coach, a bag of balls clutched under his arm.
Chantelle estimated he was in her early 30s. He couldn't be much older than that, while his short black hair and absence of any facial hair probably made him look a year or two younger than he was.
For her part, Chantelle, now in her early 40s, reckoned she could pass for a thirtysomething too. With her mid-length blonde hair, ample bosom and pretty face, she'd never had a problem attracting the attention of men.
"Rob!" She smiled as she called to him.
"Chantelle, is it?" Rob sensed what was coming.
"My boy's not happy with not playing. What's going on?"
Rob was used to parents wanting their children to play. It went with the territory. Most Dads thought they knew better, but usually came round to his way of thinking, perhaps because most had played the game themselves.
Chantelle seemed different. He didn't sense his usual patter, explaining that he knew best from his years of experience in the game, would work. Besides, she kind of had a point. Oliver was a good player but you can, after all, only field 11 players at a time.