Shooting on Goal

Traditional Model Soccer Goal

A traditional model soccer goal has a top depth of one foot or more. Because of that little feature, most of these goals have a framework that runs down the back of the goal and that framework makes the goal both heavier and safer than lightweight model goals.

Traditional Soccer Goal Model

Pros

A traditional soccer goal looks cool, it has the classic frame that you see in pro games. The extra framework means that it is unlikely to tip over.

Cons

Traditional soccer goals are heavy, they have more material involved in their construction and so they are tougher to move and in the unlikely event that they do fall, there is more weight to cause injury, always anchor your soccer goals and this won’t be a problem.

Why You Should Choose a Traditional Model of Soccer Goal

This type of goal is a great choice for leagues and for families who are planning to set a goal up and then leave it up, or move it only a short distance. If there is a field in place that is used solely for soccer, the traditional model is the way to go.

Lightweight Model Soccer Goal

A lightweight model soccer goal has no top depth. Thanks to that little feature, these goals don’t need a lot of framework to keep shape. This also makes them less expensive and as the name states, much much lighter than traditional models.

Lightweight Soccer Model

Pros

Due to the fact that there is less framework involved, these goals last longer. While this sounds counter intuitive, it is true, the more welding that you do with a soccer goal, the shorter the lifespan of that goal. Lightweight goals often need little to no welding at all to work. They are also easier to move and cost less.

Cons

Anchoring is more important with these goals than with traditional goals as these goals have less weight pushing them down. They don’t have that cool traditional look.

Why You Should Choose a Lightweight Model of Soccer Goal

This type of goal is a great choice for leagues and for families who may not be leaving the goal up all year round. They are meant to be moved. They are also great for families and leagues on a budget as they cost less and last much longer.

That is all that we will be covering in this year’s shopping guide, we hope that the guide was helpful and that it enabled you to narrow down which goal would be ideal for your home, league or school. We will end this guide with a list of soccer goals that we recommend you take a look at.

Pop-up/Tent

Pugg Goal
Bownet Goal

PVC/Training

Duralite Training Soccer Goal

Flat/Rebounder

Kickback Rebounder
Kwik Goal Rebounder

Portable

Backyard Goal
Portable Goals

Permanent

Kwik Goal
Tournament Soccer Goal

Tipped Soccer Goal

Weight

Steel is a very sturdy and strong material that is exceedingly cheap. Unfortunately it is also dangerously heavy. Whether a soccer goal is permanent or portable, a reasonably thick and durable length of aluminum is a much safer option. Aluminum weighs nearly one-third as much as steel, meaning that in the unlikely event that a goal should tip over, the result would be 80 pounds collapsing as opposed to about 230. This is the difference between a broken bone or death (steel) and a bruise or possible concussion (aluminum). Neither is ideal but the latter is certainly the more preferable option. Duralite’s 8′ x 24′ portable soccer goal weighs only 60lbs.

Anchoring

Any soccer goal that is made by an accepted manufacturer such as Kwik Goal, Duralite, Fold-a-Goal or Goal Oriented, to name a few has a solid anchoring system in place as part of the soccer goal’s design. There are several ways to anchor a soccer goal, some are more costly than others, but at the very least outdoor goals should include locking stakes that drive into the ground or a sand bag kit. Indoor goals should have a weighted back bottom bar and anchor bags. The Duralite portable soccer goal includes an “X-Cross” stake anchoring system that, while simple, is incredibly effective. Two 10″ stakes go through the rear of the ground posts at a 45 degree angle. They then cross underground and create an “X” that locks the goals into place.

Design

A good soccer goal is designed with a plan to mitigate the possibility of the goal causing damage. For every type of soccer goal whether permanent, semi-permanent or portable, there are ways to make the goal safer. A permanent soccer goal on a turf field can have an underground locking system with chains and cement. An indoor soccer goal can be built into the framework of the indoor field itself and a semi-permanent goal that is moved around the field can have a weighted back-bottom bar with increased length on its ground supports to keep the goal from tipping. When shopping for a soccer goal, study the literature on the manufacturers brochure or website and find out what design plan was used to ensure that the goal does not fall over. If you cannot find one, call the company and ask. Duralite’s portable goals are actually designed so that they will not stand into position unless they have been properly anchored. Once anchored they will not move out of position until the anchors have been removed. This removes the possibility of distracted or lazy set up.

Some great sources of information on the topic include Anchored for Safety, USCPSC Guidelines for Movable Soccer Goal Safety, USCPSC Safety Alert.

With that in mind, Sammut is involved in a project called robocup, where robots have been programmed to learn how to play soccer. Here is what he had to say in regards to a team of robots one day defeating the world’s best humans:

“RoboCup aims, by the year 2050, to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world soccer champion team.

“To achieve this, or come even close, the robots will have to be able to sense and act in completely unstructured environments. This will require major advances in perception, decision making, learning, and co-operative behaviours.

“Not forgetting that robots are integrated hardware and software systems, significant advances will also be needed in sensors, actuators, energy storage, and materials.”

Well, there you have it. But is 40 years enough time? The bet referenced above stated that the computer would beat the chess player within 10 years, but it took closer to thirty. This is obviously a much tougher task, as it involves a moving robot that not only needs to be able to trap, pass and shoot a ball, it would have to adjust to and compete with 21 other moving players. But science is moving quickly and only time will tell.

Image by Angelo Blankespoor

This soccer fan does her native South Africa proud! Though her team lost 3-0 the day this photo was taken

Image by Samantha Steele

Here are two fans celebrating a 7-0 whooping over North Korea by their favorite squad Portugal.

Image by austinhk

Brazilian fans seem to have the most opportunity to celebrate, and here they are again, enjoying a 3-1 victory over the Ivory Coast.

Image by austinhk

The last fans of the week are a pile of screaming kids. No one can celebrate a victory for Mexico with the pure energy like these children.

Image by fher_citox

Maicon – Brazil vs. North Korea (All World Cup Goals played off-site at fifa.com)

JI Yun Nam – North Korea vs. Brazil (All World Cup Goals played off-site at fifa.com)

Winston Reid – New Zealand vs. Slovakia (All World Cup Goals played off-site at fifa.com)

Wake Forest Soccer Team Celebrates its 2007 Championship

According to the College Sports Council (CSC), a rule in the 1964 Civil Rights Act which requires schools to give equal opportunity to women in College Sports is limiting the growth of Men’s Soccer. The report, released today, points out some glaring statistics that prove this point. According to the CSC, only 59% of college programs offer Men’s Soccer, while over 93% offer Women’s Soccer. Furthermore, in 1995 there were 197 Men’s Soccer programs in the NCAA, today that number remains the same, whereas Women’s soccer has grown from 189 teams to 310 in the same time span.

“Men’s soccer has really been harmed,” said Eric Pearson, chairman of the CSC. “Since 1996, the growth of the sport at the collegiate level has been held back.”

On the flip-side of the argument, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, the Women’s Sports Foundation‘s incoming senior director of advocacy, insists the CSC’s study is overly simplistic. She says although schools might use proportionality to comply with the law, they still have plenty of flexibility.

“The law doesn’t care if an athlete is wearing a football uniform or a soccer uniform or a swimsuit or a fencing uniform. … All they care about is: Are you providing boys and girls, men and women, with equal educational opportunities?” Hogshead-Makar said. “Individual schools make those choices. The law doesn’t dictate what sports schools offer at all.”

In the end, both sides are partially correct. The law is definitely affecting the growth of Men’s Soccer, but it is not because this is a bad rule, it is because institutions need a solution to the problem of College Football.

The law states that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

The problem that arises out of this this, from the University point of view, is what is to be done with College Football? To put it bluntly, it is neither safe, nor financially viable to offer Women’s College Football and even if it was offered, it is very unlikely that there would be interest from enough women to sustain a league. So Universities have gone around this problem by offering Women’s Soccer as the female option to go alongside the profitable giant that is College Football.

Should something be done? Probably. Is the rule bad for college sports? No. But the solution should have more to do with finding a different sport or activity to pair with College Football than soccer. This might be a crazy thought, but the women’s activity that has always been synonymous with Football is cheerleading. So why can’t cheerleading get an upgrade? The activity is already taking up funding, there are already competitions, why not call it a sport?

Obviously this is just a thought that is being spit-balled into the ether, but the point in the end is, that Men’s college soccer would grow if the Universities thought it was important enough to let it. The only thing that will put it on the top of the priority list is the almighty dollar. So for you soccer fans out there, it is time to hope that the World Cup comes back the United States or that Major League Soccer has unprecedented and unexpected growth.

Otherwise, you could try flooding letters and phone calls to your favorite college AD’s office and be demanding. Who knows? Maybe they can come up with a great solution, but in all likelihood it will only happen if they really need to.

Wesley Sneijder – Netherlands vs Ghana (Friendly)

Winston Parks – Switzerland vs Costa Rica (Friendly)

Raúl Meireles – Portugal vs Cameroon (Friendly)

A total of four penalty kicks were awarded the first was missed.

An active Clinton could make the difference for the US World Cup bid

Clinton’s reasons for entering the fold are obvious, especially after he stated the following, “That means that if we get the (World Cup) there will be an economic stimulus estimated between $400-$600 million per host city. That will be very good for a lot of families that are still hurting, a lot of communities that are still digging out from under the current economic crisis.”

A former President really has only one thing on their mind once they leave office and that is to cement their legacy. Helping to improve the economy by bringing what may be the world’s greatest event to American soil, could only help him in that effort.

In order to get this bid through, will he do for the US what a passionate soccer legend like David Beckham will do for England? President Clinton is obviously a very influential figure and there is no doubt that he could have a major influence on what happens with this bid, just adding his name to it helps. But what if he was more than just an honorary figure? What if he scratched out just a few visits to some key decision makers and a press conference here or there? He could absolutely make a huge difference.

The two biggest arguments against the United States having a world cup are first; that the country doesn’t need it. It’s true that the United States is in a recession, but the country is still considered to be in comparatively good shape by the rest of the world. The second argument is that the US hosted a world cup only 16 years ago. When the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, the country was still a fairly virgin territory in regards to soccer. Sure, kids played in the leagues across the land and Pele and Beckenbauer stopped by in their twilight years, but at the time there was no pro league and it was predominantly considered a kid’s sport. The World Cup went a long way toward changing that and it has resulted in a boom of excitement in regards to soccer in the United States. The other potential host countries will point that out and say that the US is not in need of another World Cup so soon.

The First shot at a North American Pro League starred Beckenbauer, Pele and Chinaglia.

So the US needs the help of a heavy hitter like Clinton, but they need more than his name. They need his charm, his effort and his action. With a suave and charismatic speaker like Clinton reminding key decision makers, in person, of the financial boom that soccer saw internationally after the US World Cup in 1994, the United States has not only a better shot at securing the tournament, but quite possibly a game winning shot. But will the former President give the time?

Concerned Soccer Fans

According to Eurosport, Goran Tunjic, a 32-year-old defender playing for the Mladost FC, collapsed in the 35th minute of the County League match against Hrvatski Sokola, prompting the referee to approach the player with a yellow card in his hand.

Tragically, however, the player had suffered a fatal heart attack.

The official quickly realised what had happened and called for medical aid, but Tunjic died despite being rushed to a nearby hospital.

“Doctors tried to help him but there was nothing they could do,” a club spokesman said of the player, who had no previous medical problems.

“He just fell dead on the spot.”

“Diving” for a foul is, unfortunately, a regular occurrence in soccer and referees across the globe are cracking down on that with yellow card bookings. It is tragic and unfortunate, however, that this referee happened to be on the way to doing this during such a sad and unlikely incident.