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!

I have been trying to get my dd to play for a team but she is happier swimming for her club- after reading this, l think l will let sleeping dogs lie!

One of our local games was abandoned last year after a parent pulled a knife in an under-10s match.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/knife-pulled-parent-childrens-football-26511117.amp

Get him to take up rugby. They don't tolerate any of that shit.

I've had to pull my son out of Saturday football club because the bullying and heckling by other kids was so bad that he was crying every week. The coaches did nothing.

I'm a coach for girls U9s and I've not experienced any of the above. Parents shouting instructions, yes, but we all do it in our excitement and the kids don't listen. Boys football seems to be different.

Playing down an age bracket is a real problem for us locally with rugby / especially when the obviously older ones are clearly used to tackling!

We don't have the other problems though. And v grateful for it. Local football sounds very aggressive.

There was recently a safeguarding breach at a match we were at.
Parents were told to stop filming on their phones. Their reply was “we’ll do what the fuck we like.”
Club has now been reported to the FA for investigation.

When you accept a position where you are responsible for child’s safety whether you are paid or not is irrelevant.

The game should not go ahead if there are 10-11 year olds playing against under 7s and the coach, and for that matter the parent too (if aware), is shit if they are purposely putting the kids at risk of significant injury in a very physical contact sport. They should both be ashamed.

It is absolutely the clubs/coaches responsibility to deal with conduct issues by having zero tolerance in their own club, and reporting incidents in teams they play against.

The more popular women's football gets, the more money it generates, the more they'll start acting like the men.

Football brings the worst out in people.

My ds quit, the parents were just as described but to be honest the coach was even worse.

@ticktickticktickBOOM my experience is those smaller clubs set up when the bigger clubs won't tolerate certain coaches and groups of parents. They then go off and set up own clubs so they can do what they like. Overly competitive coaches, trials for 8 year olds, over invested parents.

I've heard off this kind of thing but not really witnessed myself. Our club/league stand no messing at all. I have three that play U9, U10 and U13.
They can't put other/older players in as every player has photo ID and it's checked at the started of the match (unless a friendly)

My daughter played one team and the parents were vile. One screamed at her daughter "if she's gonna play rough fucking take legs out" she was talking about a perfectly legitimate tackle from my daughter.
The coach put in a complaint and they didn't end up in our league.

That sounds about right actually @deeprealisation. I think that's what I've seen happening.

Stop it! Drinking during the game. I've heard it all now. They can't manage an hour, 2 hours tops??