Dee Why FC reprimanded for putting up kids soccer results on Facebook
A northern beaches football club has been told to stop posting the results of kids’ soccer matches on Facebook. The move has left parents stunned, including one who said it’s ‘sad what we are doing to kids now’.
Manly
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A NORTHERN beaches football club has been told to stop posting the results of kids’ soccer matches on social media.
The reprimand came from Manly Warringah Football Association after it was made aware of the posts on Dee Why FC’s Facebook page.
The FFA rule states that the results of matches played by the U6s to the U11s should not be recorded and that there should not be part of any league table — and apparently that extends to lighthearted posts on social media.
Parents have called the decision crazy and that children know when they’ve lost and should be allowed to learn from it, rather than trying to ignore it.
One mum Shannon Rose said on the Dee Why FC Facebook page after being told of the ban that it was “sad what we are doing to kids now”.
She wrote: “When we grew up I remember getting beaten by many teams by big goal counts sometimes … we also won by heaps sometimes too … but we lived and walked away OK after each game. Always a win or a loss. Good teams young or old walk away learning to do both.”
Another page member, Frank Cirillo, added: “100% we’re breeding a Nanny State.”
The president of Dee Why FC Alex Wise, told the Manly Daily while the club agreed with the rule about not officially publishing results, he felt it was a bit over the top to ban it from the club’s own Facebook page.
He said the posts championed the Player of the Week from each team, alongside the result of the match.
One post showed some U10 girls with smiling faces, after they lost 10-5, with an encouraging nod to the player who scored their team’s five goals.
Mr Wise said some parents were unhappy over the ban.
“People are fine that there are no official scores or tables for U11s,” he said.
“But they see this as the embodiment of political correctness.
“We are not teaching kids the great things that come out of losing.
“It’s upset parents, they see it as an affront to the sporting nature of winning and losing.”
In an official Facebook post, Dee Why FC said: “Win, lose or draw, we always want our teams to have fun and conduct themselves in the best interest of the game and the club.
“Scores that have been reported were done with a view to encouraging kids and rewarding outstanding play no matter what the result and no harm was intended.”
David Mason CEO of MWFA, said the rules set by the FFA had been in a place for a number of years and it was the responsibility of the MWFA to make sure clubs were abiding by the rules.
“The aim is to make sure games at that age is all about having fun,” he said.