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

Yes lots of children’s sports classes and groups are on Facebook.

they often post on local Facebook groups.

Get him on the waiting list for local Cub units. He can start when he's 8, but they will have automatic feeds with kids coming up from Beavers.
Lots of different activities there so bound to be something he likes and lots of opportunities for making friends.

I would definitely get a Facebook account, even if you just use it to find out about/ message groups. Lots of the kids groups local to me are mainly contactable via Facebook or Instagram. This helps to prepare too as you can see pictures/ videos of the group and what they get up to. I have shown these to my kids and said ‘have a look at this- is this something you’d fancy?’. They then have more of an idea of what they’re agreeing to try. The social media accounts will also help you as you’ll be able to see what the other kids are wearing.

Oh yes I forgot that we also tried tennis and sailing. Tennis was quite fun. Tbh I pick clubs that have holiday schemes because it all helped with summer childcare…

Seeing as the summer holidays are coming up I would look at some holiday camps where he might be able to try a few different sports? Is his school running any holiday clubs?

My son who is nearly 6 years old does karate, that's done a lot for his confidence. He also does Junior parkrun which is great for fitness but not especially social. It's 2km run/jog/walk and you can run with him if you want but don't have to.

We are sporty parents of sporty offspring and I agree with you OP.
Sport teaches so much: teamwork, resilience, friendship, less reliance on screens/gaming and fewer mental health issues. plus role models for boys without a father figure at home.

Persevere. Next week go along with the long socks and shin pads.

incidentally, Vinted can be your friend for kit. I was once selling a pair of football boots for a few pounds and the lady buying asked me if I happened to have a pair of football socks I could throw in as her child didn’t have any. I only sell things on Vinted to get them out of my house so was delighted to I reduced them to £1 and threw in 3 pairs of socks plus cost of postage).

Sorry I misread your OP where it said you thought things would be different if he had a male in his life and thought that’s what you were looking for.

Have you thought about cubs as an alternative? I know most are horribly oversubscribed but it could be worth investigating. Other than that FB is your friend.

Im sorry you had that experience. I agree it’s not easy. Football we always found a struggle and gave up.

Rugby was a lot friendlier but I am a wuss about rugby, didn’t want ds to do it and without me actively supporting it it didnt happen.

Athletics took a good year or more on a waiting list, but once we started ds really enjoyed it until he left school. We just had to keep searching for numbers and emails and asking around.

Cricket was pretty easy once we found a club with a junior summer school, it was great for a few years (in the case of the club we chose it did go sour in the early teens but not all of them are like that). We also had to wait a while for Woodcraft Folk but I do thoroughly recommend that if you have it locally, I personally preferred it to Scouts but the latter can be good depending on the leaders.

7 is a good age to try a musical instrument if he’s considered that? Maybe something that fits into groups in the future like guitar?

If he likes football and wants to give it a go, just go back next week with shin pads and socks.

Its only a big deal if you make it one.

You can go round with him (but adults don't enter the funnel and get a result) or you can let him go round himself. Juniors are marshalled so they're always in sight of an adult. (5k parkruns on Saturday have fewer marshals so u11s need to stay in arm's length of their adult).

Pace doesn't matter, there's usually some proficient teens at the front, and 4-5 yos walking, running, pointing at things and picking up sticks at the back, and everyone else doing some combination of running, jogging and walking in between.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/

If he was shouting at you that's the wrong club for you. Who needs that!

Get yourself on Facebook etc, even with a very basic profile. Get on the local groups, then it is just trial and error. We have felt horribly out of our depth, the school I was at had really long hours etc and lots of extra curricular stuff, I didn't really do much out of school bar our family sport. None of the sports my kids do or have done were ones we had experience of.

Also ask at local leisure centres etc, often they either have the details or rent space to classes etc.

Do you have a local rugby club near you OP? My son has been playing since under 7 (under 12 now) and loves it. It’s non contact when they’re little and even now, strict rules are in place. Our club is very friendly, really empathises team work and supporting each other, great coaches and parents are very encouraging (to both sides). Good for social side as well.

Junior Parkrun isn’t really somewhere you make friends as you turn up, run for 10 mins and then go home.
Athletics clubs are a good call though as clubs are normally very welcoming (and cheap!). Do you have one nearby OP?

Is there a KIXX or similar near you? Ours is really relaxed, my DS loves it and it’s easy to join

Post and ask in your local area FB group

Is he actually interested in football?

There are plenty of other clubs and activities he could do. Drama clubs are great for improving confidence.

It’s great you’re trying to find something for him and I think it’s the same all over with kids clubs - they get over subscribed. Have you tried martial arts clubs? Great for confidence and discipline, etc, and you could even join! Don’t worry, you’ll get there 💐

Fine, but activities outside school does not automatically mean sport.

Scouts/cubs, drama, dance, boys' brigade, coder dojo, music lessons, choir, etc etc etc.

Just get the shin pads and long socks and take him to the next class, you'll get there!

Jesus, OP, you seem to have a hair-trigger temper and/or be very easily upset.