How has being part of a football team shaped your family? Share your proudest moments for a chance to win £200!

[geemumsnet]

Come rain or shine, you’re always on the sidelines. Cheering them on, washing the never-ending messy football kits, finding that one missing shin pad …

Whether your little one is just starting out or you’ve clocked up years of early Saturday mornings and muddy kit bags, we want to hear your football family story.

Has being part of a team helped your child grow in confidence, make friends, or find their passion?

We’re also keen to hear about your involvement with the club! Have you become a volunteer, coach, or made friends with the other football parents?

Whatever your proudest moment, from their first kick to their latest hat trick, we’d love you to share it below.

One lucky commenter will win a £200 voucher to spend on anything your sporty family needs!

Comment below by Friday 12th September for your chance to win!

Being in a team has taught my teenage son so much. To get along with people ge may not necessarily be friends with, teamwork , determination and keeping fit and healthy and looking after yourself

My 13 yr old DS has played grassroots football since he was 6. It has given him so much. New friends, confidence and discipline. It is a major part of his life. He was lucky enough to have a spell as gk at a premiership academy and that was stratospheric for him. He ended up playing in goal against the Liverpool FC academy under 9s. Eventually he came back to grassroots only as the premiership was not for him but I’m so glad he had the experience which was out of this world. Football is life!

Seeing his face when hes scored a goal.
Seeing how all the lads in the team congratulate each other on a good game, or support each other after a bad game.
Seeing how hes learnt to deal with disappointment and unfairness
Regular fresh air - for me (suffer with depression and ocd, so tend to hide away a lot!)
The whole family has made friends - two of the football mums have become my best friends, while their younger children have become good friends with my other children.

Both our children play football and my husband manages a team so a lot of our weekends are spent playing and watching football. My eldest son's experience of football has not been smooth but there have been so many good moments - from seeing him step up to take a decisive penalty when another child was too nervous to encouraging his teammates when they had to play an 11 a side match with only 9 players. He has SEN and so school doesn't suit him and he works very hard to not stand out in any way. Playing football allows him to show personality and leadership skills and has helped him develop confidence and belief that he will do well in the wider world once school is done.

My DD started playing at age 8. She joined a boys (mixed in theory) team & had to fight hard to prove she was worthy of the boys passing to her! Undeterred, she continued to play in the boys (mixed) team for another 2 years, becoming their chief scorer! We watched her absolute determination with pride every Saturday morning. From age 12 DD moved to a girls team and Saturday after Saturday, after school games, training and tournaments we tried to be there at everything. Not just to ensure she felt supported but because we absolutely loved being there, rain or shine, blistering sun or freezing cold. Watching her grow as part of a team, when things were often tough socially (teenage girls!) has been a joy and it has been her saviour more than once. Now she's off to university and we won't be able to attend every match or watch her on summer's day tournaments and we're at a bit of a loose end! Football has been part of our life for so long and we will miss it desperately!

Enjoy it while it lasts! My oldest is now 18 and is about to join a men's team. Having spoken to other football mums, it's not really a thing to go and watch them but he has said I can 😎😍We'll see but I will really miss the matches, the camaraderie, the ups and downs. Have to find a new Sunday hobby!!

My proudest moment is when my DC went to the Netherlands to see family. We took them to the park to play football.
When I looked back again about 8 local children had joined the game, they did not speak the same language - but did not need to - the language of football was the common language between them - they played for around an hour before we had to leave for the house we were staying in.

It has changed my shy boy, to one who looks forward to training, meeting his friends, having pride in his club, plus it's made a difference to our family, as the club is a long established club with events for families, and really goes to town at Christmas organising things for the children.
My proudest moment was when my son offered to go into goal, when noone else would (he went on to win man of the match for this).

My 13 year old son sustained a very serious injury playing football with his team. He was hospitalised. Within hours of getting the green light for visitors, boys from the team started arriving with cards, treats and hugs for my son. It was truly lovely

As a result of his injury, he has been out of football for a year. So hard for a boy who literally lives for football. Being part of the team hasn't wavered though, and he has attended every match to cheer his friends on. In turn, the team have been amazing at organising activities that my son has been able to join in with, or taking buses across town to come spend time with my son at our houses He's never been made to feel left out of less of the team. Now he's getting back to being able to play, his team mates are supporting him with fitness and recovery. It's truly been a joy to watch. These teenage boys may not say much, but their actions have spoken volumes.

My son's team have shown him what true friendship and team spirit looks like, and in turn have helped him to develop resilience in spades.

We're a massive football family with 40+ years going to our local football teams matches and all 4 of us all supporting different "big" clubs too. It makes for an interesting time!

My now 15 year old son started playing for Arsenal soccer school at age 2 and received 3 player of the day certificates within the first month. He joined a local club aged 10 and loved every second until the club folded. He sat out a year and we noticed a difference in his personality. He was definitely less happy, bored and stayed in his room a lot. After a year out, a new friend at secondary school persuaded him to start at his club. The old child started to come back, but unfortunately the club was not very good and he only lasted a season there.

We're now on club 3 which he has been at for 2 seasons. He is really happy there but they have recently begun struggling to recruit players. I have everything crossed that they don't have to fold too.

For me, grass roots football is so important for all players. Whether they want to go on to play professional football or not, the camaraderie, sense of belonging, teamwork, dealing with disappointment, shared joy and discipline is just not found anywhere else. My son is a much happier boy, win, lose or draw having a football team to participate in.

Mine played disability football. After being in a local team for a year or two he also joined the disability team of a Premier League club. One evening they were invited to go to one of the first team’s matches which was exciting enough (it was a cracking game) and got to take penalties at the home end at half time. It was such a brilliant evening, in fact the whole 6 or so years he played for them was an amazing experience, training was at the club’s prestigious training ground, excellent and very inclusive coaching, really treasured memories.

It learned my eldest to release some energy, to have a routine at the weekend, for training and for the games, when he was made captain, it gave him the skills learned by following the lead of his coach, and maturing so much - I am so proud of the captain and they way he motivates his team every Sunday.

I’ve been involved in kids football since 2019. I started helping because another coach who was helping my husband walked away from the team.
I am now a UEFA C qualified coach, I have two teams I coach with my husband, a boys U15 team and the clubs first ever girls team.
We are both also heavily involved with running the club and on the committee.

its brilliant being so involved, we get to know the kids friends on different levels and we’ve seen both teams improve so much.
The boys have gone from losing every game to winning more often than not and winning some tournaments. I couldn’t be prouder of them all

I wish we’d never got into it. Now at the age of U14, the game is so rough… the swearing, the tackles, the insults, the injuries, the parents, everything. Everyone is ultra paranoid about their kids performance, all the joy has gone, the refs can’t handle the kids from the rough part of town. The managers swear at their players and scream, and the kids come off miserable every week because even if they win they get a load of abuse. It’s been a constant source of worry for our son, one wrong move and your “mates” take you down. Only they’re not really your mates as all move clubs every year or two because dad thinks he’s pep guardiola and has birthed the new Beckham, if only people would like just see his talent…

I have found myself unexpectedly being a trainer once a week for my son's football team. I know nothing about football, and to complicate matters do not live in an English speaking country so have to give the training in a language I'm not fluent in. The club is reliant on parent volunteers to train, coach and organise each team and we are just unlucky that there are no footballing parents in our team, so we're all having to pitch in to ensure our kids can enjoy the beautiful game. Have given my first 2 trainings and even enjoyed it this week. My son's verdict on my training session - football was good, but you need to work on your Dutch!

(I'm probably not eligible for the prize draw as I'm not in the UK...would happily donate to one of my UK based siblings who use MN!)

All 3 of my DSes have gained something from football teams.

DS1 (16) has been playing since the age of 5 & loves it! He has developed confidence & leadership skills & has now decided to make it into his career - he wants to become a football coach. He currently helps to coach DS3's team.

DS3 (11) only started playing football this year. He has gained lots of confidence & skill, going from crying before he started, to joining a second football activity without a second thought & has made lots of friends along the way.

DS2 (14) doesn't play for a team due to his various SEN. However, he loves playing it with his brothers at every opportunity. It is developing his physical strength & also his social skills as it is not easy for him to find a way to play with others.

Football has benefited the whole family, giving us something to talk about & do together & support each other in. Although I don't love all the washing it gives me 🤣

There are lots of mixed messages above, it seems like you really need a strong coach with the ability to train the parents as much as the children.
We forget that they are volunteers doing their best, both on the field and on the committee to fundraise for the club.
My proudest moment was when my DC won man of the match, when he needed it most, he was a sub a lot, and tried his best, he almost wanted to quit - the coach saw this in him and giving him the man of the match trophy gave him the boost he needed - and the pride and memory that has never left him

Grassroots football, and a great team behind the scenes is the best foundation for a club. My DS joined at age 5, when he was the younger sibling, of a brother who was SEN, it was HIS time.
I saw him grow in confidence, become more outgoing, he naturally attracted friends, and became captain over time.
My proudest moment when he was voted players player in an anonymous vote on presentation night - from a shy little boy, he blossomed into a well rounded kind and confident young man. I know football, and a coach who spent time and patience with the team.

Football is literally our life now! :)

My husband coaches our son’s team. I do everything for the team but coach 😁 My son plays Saturday and Sunday league footie and we all have season tix for our prem league home city team 😮‍💨

Watching my son develop in his true passion has been awesome. The lovely friendships and watching them play for one another, the victorious tournament wins, learning from little people being graceful in defeat, the laughs, the adult friendships, hiding under brollies in the lashing rain, post match socials. It’s all been a fantastic experience.

We also had to deal with a difficult situation of in-team bullying and learned so much in how to handle tough conflict and show our son how to deal with people who treat you badly with assertiveness.

My son hangs so much learning off football - spellings, foreign pronunciation, flags, capital cities, maths!

Summed up, football for us has been life-enhancing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. ⚽️❤️

I never liked football. When I grew up the football club was rough and involved a lot of drinking, my parents didn't go. This was at the height of football hooliganism. At school, if a girl kicked a ball a boy would take it off them saying "girls don't play football". The one chance I had to play I was simply alll at sea. I had no idea how to do anything.
When I had a daughter I did lots of reading around child development. For confidence and self development I wanted a team sport for my daughter. We are a football village and Wildcats was there and one of the first activities to return after Covid. I taught my daughter to help. Then the coach's daughter was graduating to be in a "real team" and I plus two friends stepped up to run it. We studied hard and ran an incredibly successful development programme for two years, until our daughters wanted to be in a team of their own.
I've twice received awards for my individual work. I've been nominated for Country Coach of the Year, the FA have commended our coaching, and for the last two years our team has won club awards such as "U11 team of the year". This was all without me ever having played a game of football.
Football is called "the beautiful game" and some people love it. I love my child. I love my girls and the efforts I put in are worth it because I see them grow in confidence and self-belief.

I LOVE being part of the football grassroots family, having supportive parents, a dedicated coach - who is often there an hour before the match inspecting the pitch, and putting up the goal posts.
We have a mixed community of nationalities in our team, from Syria and Ukraine, my proudest moment was how we welcomed these children, and my son amongst others welcomed these children without the remotest sign of prejudice and racism - they saw them simply as new children - if only more people saw people this way, the world would be a happier place. (sigh)

My 2 sons discovered grassroots football when we moved to a new house. The field next to our house had football training and matches. They both avidly watched the matches and by luck, there were spaces in their age groups.

It quickly helped them feel more settled, they made friends too. This was 6 years ago and they haven't stopped playing since.

DH now helps out running the line and a stand in coach when needed. It's helped me to make new friends too. Even I have a new love of football!

My son has become a team player as a result of his love of football. This, I know, will stand him in great stead for the rest of his life. Makes standing in the cold on the sidelines feel worthwhile!

Both played football, ds2 still does, and is a referee, earns £30 p/h! So we've been football parents for over 15 years! Enjoyed it but it's a big commitment. Won't mind when it's over.

My 16 year old son wasn’t interested in playing any sports apart from cricket and that waned when he was around 10. One of his best friends convinced his to start playing on his football team two years ago, and it’s honestly changed his life.
He's much more confident, more active and healthy. He's joined a gym, works out regularly and is making good nutritional choices too.
When I say it's changed his life, it’s changed his entire future too, he was recently accepted and has started on a sports excellence course at a wonderful college and I couldn’t be more proud of him.
I regularly watch him play and take him to his away games and I look forward to doing more this season, it’s great for his younger siblings to see him so happy and healthy.