AIBU to feel overwhelmed trying to get my son into sport?

Oh and what @Anononony said! Go niche! Fencing is fun, for instance. Even as a shy teen I liked getting my aggression out and pretending I was a musketeer 😀.

I think there's a good chance you might be able to find a holiday club that would allow him to try out some sports. Two good chains are Supercamps and Camp Beaumont. Our local tennis and cricket clubs also do holiday camps based on those sports.

I'm not sporty either bit although I am musical, I was totally taken aback by some of the expectations around music theatre. You don't know what you don't know eh!

What about martial arts (they almost always have loaner suits for newcomers to use), does he like riding bikes?

I've found the less mainstream things far easier to get into and far more affordable than some of the more popular things which are paid for by the term. My 6yo does judo (£5 a go, pay as you go on the day, suit hire costs a couple of ££ after a few weeks of it being free, or the sell them for £30-40) and bmx racing (coaching is also a fiver, paid when booking on their app, hire bike/helmet/gloves is also £5 which is good as buying all your own soon adds up!)

Both the coaches are always super welcoming of newcomers, approachable and really good with the kids

Both Olympic sports, so lots of progression potential while also being solo (so you don't have to 'make the team') and especially for the BMXing - really really easy to start competing, mine did his first proper race less than a month after his intro session! 🤣

If you need any help finding a club for either drop me a PM and I'll see if I can help

Tennis, cricket and athletics I would highly recommend. But if you want him to build extreme resilience- get him into horse riding 😂 not only will he be hopping back on the horse after falls but also horsey people are some of the toughest straight-talking people so he will definitely develop a tough skin. And when he is a teen he will be very popular with all the horsey girls 🤣

Doesn't have to be anything to do with sport.

That's the rule for 5ks as they have fewer marshals to supervise.
At junior events the children can run at their own pace (generally ahead of their panting parents) when they feel confident 😂

We have parents that jog along at their own pace for the fun of it.

Over time my two have built up friendships there with other regulars, plus chatting to the volunteers which is nice for social confidence.

I started volunteering when mine were 6-8 and ended up becoming a director. My older one is now "retired" and volunteers for DoE and younger one is close to 100 volunteers from setting up and run/ scanning.

Ok so the people jumping on my first comment obviously haven’t read my other comment apologising for misreading the OP.

My kids aren’t sporty at all and I don’t feel like I’ve failed them. The football coach sounds horrible and I wouldn’t want to go back either. Who expects anyone to buy kit before they’ve tried the sport?

see? The lack of exercise is making people bitter. You should join a sport, in real life, that would help with your anger 😂

the OP is talking about SPORTS, football was one of them.

No 7 year old has practiced enough different activities to be able to say they "don't like sport". It's just lazy.

Don't know if it's already been answered, but yes you have to accompany children running in the Junior Parkrun and run with them. (Think it's up to age 11 you have to run with them)

Maybe he wasn't telling you off but you are being oversensitive. You have certainly reacted that way on this thread.

No need to be narky. Does he want to play football? If not don't try and make him. Not everyone likes sport but there are other ways of exercising or making friends.

On the local area SM pages there are always people asking where they can take their children for sports clubs. It's a good start

Please tell me you don't have children with that ridiculous comment. What child does NOT practice sport? Horrible parenting if they don't.

You really need to join Facebook, local resources from local mums and local groups are a life-saver for addresses and tips.

Football is a tough one, because some parents are VERY keen on their child becoming the next Messi, and put their name down from birth 😂

Don't be disheartened, many clubs are ran by volunteers, so they really don't have time to deal with admin and that's why they"ignore" you. Just lack of time or organisation, nothing personal.

Maybe it’s parkrunning/juniors dependant as I found our local one super friendly when we moved and got talking to some other parents!

Just to add, while I love Parkrun it is really not sociable in terms of meeting new people so if you go, don’t go with that objective in mind.

Another one to suggest rugby ( and maybe cricket for summer). Rugby clubs are actively encouraged to be inclusive in terms of team selection, are not allowed to have “talent” requirements to join, can more easily absorb extra kids due to squad sizes and it’s an easier sport to slot into at any age. Fewer dickhead parents convinced their DS is the next Messi ( still some but that’s life). Just on scheduling it tends to be a Sunday rather than a Saturday sport if that makes a difference. My DS also really enjoyed indoor climbing and hockey at that age. Still plays rugby and hockey now and climbs socially with friends sometimes

As others have said does he actually want to do sport? It all seems to be about what you think he wants. Football is a particularly bad idea for a shy boy with no proven sporting ability. In my experience the football lads tend to be very in your face and take football very seriously so if you’re no good you will be quickly shunned which will make things even worse.

Much better idea to aim for cubs, cadets or if they’re arty some sort of arts club.

DS's teacher suggested extra curricular activities to widen his social circle so OP is following this advice.

Why not come at this a different way.

It's almost summer holidays so sign him up for a couple of sports holiday camps. Then he can have a day or two trying different sports and can then decide what he likes. This will also save you from signing him up to a sport, paying and then finding out he doesn't like. Once you know what he likes approach the coaches or other parents to see if there is a club near you offering the sport.

There is so much out there hockey, rugby, cricket, tumbling, swimming, judo are just a few of the sports my 8yo's friends do.

The stables where I work do summer holiday all day camps for the kids that last a week each. I think a lot of sports probably do. Could you book him into a few different ones to see what he likes and where he makes most friends?

Lots of new FA rules about child safety. Shin pads are essential now even if they are doing little mini matches at the end of a session: my husband runs a club, they’ve just started saying no shin pads can’t join in at all! Because all it takes is for them to be messing about and a kid tackles and there’s a serious injury

Things like judo, karate, taekwondo tend to be inclusive too. It’s part of the sport to be respectful.

I wouldn’t have known that either, am not sporty at all. Also my DD went to football training for a bit and they didn’t need long socks and shin pads unless they were playing actual games.
Is there anything on over the school holidays? There’s usually some kind of summer sport camps on, maybe try your local leisure centre or ask at the school if they know of anything?