Kids playing football outside - have I approached this right?

TXC

Hi all

Said it wouldn't be too long until I was back!

I just wanted some advice really, every couple of afternoons / nights a gang of young kids will play football in the street outside my house (i'm fairly sure they live in another street or further down this one) - let me just say I don't have an issue with this at all, kids play football and its not too noisy etc etc.

What I do have an issue with is that they often lose control of the ball and it ends up up my drive, hitting my porch, or my car and the kids think nothing of coming all the way up to my front door to get it. 

Every time this has happened more than once I've gone out and said "do me a favour, keep the ball out of my drive and away from my car please mate" or words to that effect, I've always been really nice but firm. 

I plan to carry on doing this every time the bal comes on my drive or hits my property or my car as for me its just not on, as is the kids coming right up to my front door without a care in the world. I just wanted to get other people's opinion on whether I'm being a crank or I'm being fair (as this is my first time navigating the challenges of home ownership!)

user1977

I don't see that you being an owner makes a difference? What would you have done about such things in the days before you owned a house?

TXC

user1977 said:

I don't see that you being an owner makes a difference? What would you have done about such things in the days before you owned a house?

Usually my mum and dad took care of such matters is what I mean first time living alone having to sort such things myself. Apologies I should have been clearer I wasn't making some owner vs. renter jibe.

marcia_

 So long as they don't fiddle with your car or trample your flowers I'd just let them get it. How else would they get it? Knock and ask every time. That would be more annoying. 

 Balls go astray, pretty hard to control. So long as its not deliberately done not much you can do. 

 

sheramber

More years ago than I care to remember I can recall getting told-" go and play at your own front door".

Chronotrigger

I was that kid 25 years ago playing out in the street football with my neighbours. The difference with us is that we played in front of my parents house not someone elses so if the ball was hitting any windows or anything it was our own stuff.

I do remember our ball hitting our neighbours car once and he really took pride in his ford mondeo he told us in no uncertain terms "if that ball touches my car again I will kick over the roof of these houses". We didn't go anywhere near his car after that! This was in the mid 90s it was a different time there were hardly any cars on my parents road during that time period and I suppose if an adult spoke to us we acually listened. Nowadays I would be a bit cautious approaching a group of kids but I would still have to be firm and calm with them if I thought my belongings and family were at risk of harm.

elsien

Next door kept chucking their ball over on purpose. Spoke to parents - no effect.
Told the kids it was happening too often to be accidental so the next ball that came over they’d have to wait for.
Two minutes later…..they didn’t believe I wouldn’t give it back straight away. 
I held into it till the next day. They were more careful after that. 

sheramber

Being told if the ball came into the  garden the dog would burst it- true, his favourite pass time was popping footballs.- resulted in no more balls in the garden.

sheramber

We were playing hide and seek and kick the can up and down the street.  We used to come back to the ( den) street to find the can confiscated.

theoretica

You any good at football yourself?  Assign ball control drills as they seem to need them...

Debt

I would just pick up the ball and take it inside the next time it comes close to your front door. Don't give it back.

Sooner or later they will run out of footballs.