6 year olds football competition

[Wingingitmumia]

Hey, just looking for some advice as I'm not sure if I'm being over sensitive!
6yo son is part of a football team, he loves it! It's more a bit of fun and social thing for him. Pretty chuffed when he gets a goal or 2......anyway, as a team they were entered into a comp. some of the other parents are pretty competitive (I don't have a competitive bone in my body) and the manager only played the star players. Same 3 on the bench each time with a minute played here or a minute there. My son was happy with what he got to play and happy that he got his medal but me and the oh were left feeling a bit gutted as usually the manager is pretty fair! His reasoning was it's better to be part of a winning team than walk away with nothing...
Please someone tell me am I overreacting????

Welcome to kids football. It's ridiculous. Little kids playing FIFA rules football.
My DS age 13 has always loved football but he's not very good so despite faithfully attending training he'll often get no time on the pitch during matches.
It's no wonder kids give up sport.

Yep, and if they aren’t a star player I’m afraid it only gets worse.......

Not unusual attitude in many sports sadly :(, if your son shows potential (even if it’s every other year in dual year groups) it might be fine. If he’s always on the lower end, he’ll loose self esteem.

Not all kids teams are like this, look around for another team (get recommendations from other parents if possible) my son plays for a very fair team, everyone gets equal minutes on the pitch and doing their best and trying new things is more important than the results. Some teams are horrific and even the star players will suffer as they are scared to loose and stop enjoying the game.

I have a DS who is desperate to play in a team..However his isn't great, already has low self esteem and I struggle with knowing what to do.

I was told (age 5), he probably wasn’t going to ‘make it in football,’ which was why he ‘wasn’t allowed to play, as this was for serious players.’ I thought he was joking and laughed, he wasn’t 😖. Awful behavior, nothing you’d want your kids to emulate

Starlight2345, I recommend karate. it's a great life skill, a sport that encourages coordination and develops strength. not competitive in the same way as other team sports.

Even by children's club football standards, this is insanely young to be competing (and is even against FA guidelines/rules).

Your reaction is a reflection of why it's such a very bad idea at 6.

Look for another club, which doesn't go in for competitions prematurely.

Completely agree about playing, getting them active, involved with others etc. Just with another club. Competition isn’t the problem- if kids want to learn that’s to be encouraged- it’s worth it to help kids handling winning and losing. Some parents are best avoided (and football appears to bring out the worst in them, more than other sports), from my experience. Competitive Gymnastics, swimming, tennis - nothing like the level of aggression from parents that I’ve seen in football, though I may have just been unlucky

@OldWitch00 My DS did Tae kwon do however he also had ADHD , had a couple of meltdowns and was treated like he was a naughty child which lowered his self esteem. He had to prove himself every week.

My DS2 loves football. He was not very good at 6 but has improved. In the leagues they play in they are not meant to keep score and there are no winners or losers. It is still this way at 10 years old. They don't start having trophies etc. until secondary school age.

It sounds absolutely awful. Fwiw we have a coach who seems to think his DS is the next top Scotland player and is incredibly competitive. I'm just glad my DS isn't in the squad he coaches.