7yo struggling to fit in with a group of kids at school.

My son is in year 3 (in England) where he’s the youngest boy in his year and the youngest in his class by some way.He loves to play all the sports his peers do, but being the youngest he can’t keep up with all the kids that he wants to play with. It’s led to him being the last picked for games, and he’s always ‘it’ during games of It or hide and seek.He mentions it on occasion and I’m stuck as to what to say to him.I’ve suggested that he doesn’t play with them. Or that he stands up to them when he’s always picked as ‘it’ and remind the kids he was ‘it’ previously and pick someone else.Also during his after school football club one of these kids told him that his goalkeeping gloves were ugly and some of the rest chimed in. I reassured my son that if he himself liked them then that’s all that mattered. And these types of comments usually come from a place of jealousy or insecurity.I understand that part of it is growing up and having these experiences shapes you, but I want to help him and I’m not sure what to do. Or if there’s anything that I can do…He does have friends, he has play dates, plays online with a couple so he’s not alone. But hearing him speak about the above is painful and I can see that it’s affecting him. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/3q66YqX