To ask if anyone else who has a child that plays football experiences so much twattery?

[YaMuvva]

My 7yo DS plays football every week - training on Saturdays followed by a match at the arse crack of dawn every Sunday. 10yo DD used to do the same until last year when she decided to stop.

I’m absolutely supportive of my children’s hobbies but I’m totally fed up of turning up on cold, windy wet morning to have the experience ruined by other adults.

Regular problems I’ve seen for years include:

• Opposing team having much older children playing in matches. Three weekends on the bounce I’ve seen children who are aged 10-11 playing in DS’s Under 7 team. Our team works really above board and the coaches are sticklers for the rule so despite the progress they always move a child up to the correct group and never let them play down. Other coaches seem to want to just win no matter what - some of the kids practically have facial hair
• Screaming parents at the side of the pitch. Especially when they try to overrule the (volunteer) ref or just become overbearing and bossy towards kids. Im very much of the opinion that at this age it’s supposed to be fun and think it can’t be fun to watch your parent bellow instructions from the side of the pitch.
• when parents get overly involved in what the kids are doing. Every week someone marches over at half time to tell their kid what they should have been doing. If you want to do that volunteer to be a coach!
• Dogs being brought to games and being allowed to bark, shit and bother people. I’ve seen dogs piss up the bag of footballs, try and chase the ball and going to nip other dogs or children. What’s the point when you aren’t even walking them they’re just standing there?
• Younger children being allowed to roam free. On Sunday a toddler who can’t have been older than 2 was wandering on the pitch during warm ups and the mum got huffy when a ball hit him. It isn’t daycare!

DS’s coaches are amazing and they have the patience of Saints. They are volunteers who put huge amount of efforts into many teams and I feel angry for them that they have to tolerate this rubbish too.

Is it just me? Or is this just grassroots football? I’ve started to say things but I’m conscious that I don’t want to make enemies!

My son has played for a couple of teams and this was my experience with the first team/league but not our current one. Parents are really respectful, the kids are with each other, it’s lots of fun.
Our coaches show their ID cards that have photos so the age thing can’t happen but children’s sizes at the same age varies hugely.

I agree, the age thing isn’t possible. Our coach has to show a team sheet every week with a photograph of the children registered to the team.

We take our dog with us from time to time, he’s well behaved and we clean up after him and keep him away from anyone who doesn’t approach him first. So I don’t think it’s a dog at football games thing - it’s a idiot dog owner thing.

I must admit, my pet hate at football is parents and coaches loudly praising a child for a tackle that resulted in an injury and a child on the floor crying. Doesn’t matter whether it was a good tackle or not, if someone is crying you don’t clap and cheer in my opinion.

Your coaches can absolutely call out the age issue, and report the club to the league. Ours has. There are age groups for a reason at this age.

I've seen parents threaten my child, and their coach when they were told they were wrong.
Coaches refuses to shake our kids hands when their team lost.
A drunk coach!

My son plays u7 and haven't seen any of that all season- some teams parents have been maybe a bit more vocal but not the horror
stories I had heard before he started. The parents on my son’s team are all lovely - if it’s your team that are the problem then I’d try to find a new one

Once saw a woman yell from the sidelines at one of the kids playing.

“Get your fucking finger out”

They were primary school age.

Sadly none of this is new - my parents were saying the very same things when my brother played football 20+ years ago. Dogs weren’t so much of problem back then but a lot of the parents were and the level of abuse hurled at the often young referees and whoever had been drafted in to run the line was awful.
My little one goes to football - advertised as football for fun - as he loves to kick a ball around and to try and save goals. He’s certainly not the most skilful in his group and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by some of the parents when they are watching the little game that is played at the end of the session. There have been a couple of times when I’ve been close to reminding them that these 5 and 6 year olds are not playing in the premier league, but have thought better of it as my ds really enjoys going.

This isn’t really my experience at all, my DS plays U9s for grassroots and JPL. There’s one grassroots team who are a bit dirty, and I’ve once seen a mum have an argument with a coach. That’s it really. Never thought the opposition were fielding out of age group, not sure how you can tell really when there’s such variation in ‘normal’.

I do prefer his rugby team though!

My DS (and older DS) plays football a lot, Saturday and Sunday teams. Trains 3 times a week.

There is no way that 10-11 year olds would be playing in an under 7 team I promise you. Apart from the fact that every child has to be registered with the league with their correct dob no 10-11 year old would want to play with 7 year olds.

DS had a child on his team that looked much much older, and we got questioned many times. In the end his Dad just brought a copy of his passport with him to every match.

Non of this sounds surprising, and I'm glad my kids don't play a team sport as a hobby (hoping to get them into rowing at some point). One child has to play hockey with school on Saturdays and it's the same.

That all sounds completely standard

it was a glorious day when eldest lost interest in football and announced he was quitting the team

A majority of the parents of kids football are massively shameless, loud, opinionated, love the sound of their own voice, chavs. Hence all the bullshit on the sidelines and rude, reactive, sulky, angry kids if they are ever spoken to by the ref.

Those saying it's kot possible are not correct.
Those procedures mentioned are not in place everywhere.

In Wales Minis there is no Referee and there is absolutely no checking. At all.
We don't have to declare what players attend.

Maybe posters are talking about Junior leagues but certainly not in Minis

If it's a proper league the kids should be registered with the FA and they aren't allowed to play in the wrong age groups. It would affect insurance etc. You need to bring this up with the team management who should be refusing to play them. Or could you just be mistaken about their ages?

Not just you op. What is it with these parents! We had a scouting football tournament (never again) and one of the dads was so obnoxious I told him to leave the premises. He could not believe he was being evicted but as it was private property he had no recourse!

Need to crack down and ban those parents and their kids if they can't behave.

Even at Under 7’s they have to be registered with the league/FA though? Otherwise it’s not an actual match in which case older kids playing together wouldn’t matter.

And I will say again, most 10-11 years would not ever want to play down 3 or possibly 4 (if they are 11) age groups. It makes no sense.

Yes, they are registered with the club.
Our club wouldn't allow anyone to play without registration.

But nothing is stopping Joe from the U10s playing in the U9s game really except the club.
There is no one at games checking the kids.

Parents are twats esp on football

Does your league have something like comet (I'm not in England) you have to have pictures of the kids on it who play matches so clubs can't sub players who are too old or too young

You can then appeal as usually loads parents take photos of the matches so evidence

And that I can sort of understand but the OP is suggesting that 10/11 year olds are playing under 7 football and that I cannot get my head around.

My DS has just turned 13, it’d be like me trying to get him to play with the Under 9’s which is ridiculous.

But they're still all Minis.
So all she or the club can do is report to the league.

Not sure about the age thing. Dd was saying something the other week about older girls but dh was there and hasn’t noticed. The rest though sounds about right.

i’ve found my people!

my son 9 plays in a team and i cannot STAND some of the other parents (on our team!). constant sideline coaching, shouting, being in a mood when they lose. it’s pathetic!

the sound of one of the mums screeching “get rid of it” everytime one of our team gets the ball is sending me over the edge. considering they’ve been getting the “take your time” message hammered into them at training seems to have passed her by totally. (see also “one of yer”)

yes to the PP Gary Linkekar clip - i’m this close to sharing it on our team whatsapp. these parents need to get their own life and join an adult team rather than sucking all the fun out of playing footie for their kids

and breathe 😂

But my point is, I very much doubt that it’s actually happening.

It’s not going to help either the older or the younger ones, and no child of that age is going to agree to play 4 years below.

I can't specify the exact age.
But it is happening.
We've had the emails off the FAW.

General emails not specifically calling us out.

Do you not have anything like county FAs in Wales? In England this would be a safeguarding concern and of interest to the county FA, so the club playing kids at the wrong age could potentially be penalised by fines and other penalties from both the league and the FA so its not worth the risk to the club to allow that to happen.

We have the FAW...
The other clubs report the issues.
The act.