Building a Soccer Goal - Soccer Goals

If you have a budding soccer player in your family, you may decide that building your own soccer goal is preferable to either buying one or to hauling your kids to the soccer field every day. Having a place to practice at home not only ensures that children will spend more time perfecting their techniques; it keeps them around the house where parents can keep an eye on them.
If you want a permanent goal, you can set pressure treated 4 by 4s into concrete, nail a 2 by 4 across them, and hang the net to the wooden cross bar. You'll need:

* a post-hole digger (you can rent one from a local building-supply store)
* level
* two 4 by 4's (for goal posts)
* 2 by 4 cross bar
* nails
* staple gun and staples
* tape measure
* stepladder, if needed
* cement mixture and a trowel or shovel and bucket or wheelbarrow to mix it in
* net at least 3 millimeters thick
* twine to tie the net to the posts

If you haven't dug with a post-hole digger, you've missed one of the home-construction-worker's dubious privileges. It takes considerable strength to plunge the post-hole digger into the ground, cram the shovel-shaped ends together and remove a pinch of dirt from the ground. If your ground is hard, you may want to soften it up a little by hosing it down with warm water a day or two before starting your project. If you do, make sure the holes have had time to dry out before pouring the concrete, or the wetness in the ground may cause the concrete to crack.

Mix the concrete according to the directions on the bag. Sink your 4 by 4's into the post holes, leveling them, and shoveling the concrete around their bases to keep them level. If you let the concrete come to within 4 inches of the top of the ground, you will be able to cover over the holes if your little soccer player suddenly takes up another sport and your spouse wants that space for a raised-bed garden.

Depending on the height of your goal, it may be easier to nail the cross bar while standing on a stepladder. Mark your intended height, have a helper or two give you a hand with the cross bar, and nail it place. If you like perfection, feel free to level the crossbar, but if you just want to get through and read the paper, you could probably skip this step by eyeballing the whole thing from the ground.

Once the cross bar is nailed to the goal posts, you can use a combination of staples at the top and twine on the sides to affix the net to the wooden structure.

Presto! How handy are you!