Re: Soccer goals and safety Sounds to me like it is like many other incidents that have happened. These guys found goals at a park that weren't secured, moved them to where they wanted to play and one ended up tragically killed. This is the case in many stories, which is why parks need to do their part and secure the goals. Some even lock there goals together so just such an incident can't occur.
They were Porter goals. They are the kind that have wheels on the back to move easier. The goal weighed approx. 200+ lbs. My son only weighed 70 lbs. These goals are still being sold by the manufacturer and others.
I do quite a bit of HS refereeing and almost every school uses protable goals. Some of these are portable in name only (they have wheels and can be moved). Others are flimsy and fairly light. Unfortunately in the case sited here, the child was only 10. At that age it would not take much of an impact by an unstable goal to do the damage. The report said it was a scrimmage, so I wonder if any referees were present. A reminder to all of us who play, coach and ref to always check the goals and the field for safety issues. Better to be over cautious than to have to live with this.
I believe that the goal in question had wheels and weighed something like 400 pounds. One of the videos showed how easy at was to tip the goal and how hard it hit. It didn't take much force to tip and it crushed a 55-gallon drum. It's hard to move them but it's not hard to tip them over.
You're right there was no referee because it was a scrimmage. None of us saw what caused the goal to tip over. We do know he had just kicked the ball to the other end of the field. Our message is, no matter who you are at a game, practice, scrimmage or just playing for fun, the goals ALWAYS need to be checked. In a "true" game the ref's are our last line of defense for securing goals, but everyone that has this information should do their part. Unfortunately, we didn't know and it cost us our son's life.
Placing this here as well, another tragic accident that could have been avoided: http://www.kpho.com/news/16136449/detail.html
Just a reminder to do this, here in NH we are coming into thunderstorm season. I did a game Saturday with my sons, forcast for thunder and wind. We where at our local highschool. One night TIGHTLY anchored down, the other: NOTHING. Seems the back of the net overlaps slightly with the long jump run up stretch, so the net was never anchored, keep in mind we are over half way through the season!! Mention to the home coach, who we all knew and got a sort of "what do you want me to do " look. He assumed it was our problem, NO WAY where we playing without something, high wind was forcast! Eventually we found some concrete footings in the woods and used those to anchor the back of the net, PLEASE check nets!!
Yes, we did, several large, heavy chunks of cement footing across the frame in several spots followed by pulling on the post to make sure it wouldn't move.
This is also an important issue for other reasons than safety. I am a player as well as a Grade 8 referee and I was playing in a high school match. The other team scored because the goal was off the goal line. The referee had not checked it, so we all complained to him.
Video about anchoring goals: http://www.woio.com/global/video/fl...ageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv&rnd=98139858
Kwik Goal Safety check list Yes No 1. Are anchors in place and secured properly to the goal and ground surface? 2. If anchor bags are being used, are they in good condition? 3. Are anchor bags adequately filled with aggregate? 4. Are anchor bags placed over the base of the goal frames at the back corners? 5. Is all connecting hardware, such as nuts and bolts, in place and secure? 6. Has the structural integrity of the goal been compromised? 7. Are welds cracked? 8. Are corner joints secure? 9. Is the goal on a level surface? 10. Are the goal nets attached properly to the goal frame? 11. Do sharp edges exist in any part of the goal and net attachment system? 12. Do the nets have large holes or tears?
While refereeing a game yesterday, I noticed a temporary goal moved onto a slight incline between two fields with players playing in it. When at that end during a stoppage, I asked a coach to get the players away from it. At half time I went over to the goal, and with little effort, pushed it over. It made a loud bang as the crossbar smashed on the ground. I could imagine what it would have done to kid standing under it. I called the assignor when I got home, who I knew would let the field people know about the liability. When you check fields, look for other potential hazards in the area.
I know this thread doesn't see consistent action lately, but I have a question as to what an AR can do in a situation where the goals are not anchored yet the referee is willing to play anyway. I typically get to my assignments before the rest of the crew unless traffic screws me, and I always check the field, even as the AR, because I've encountered far too many referees who skip this step. A few weeks ago I came across a goal that wasn't anchored. Thankfully when I brought it to the referee's attention when he arrived, he said he wasn't going to play unless it were anchored and made sure that the home team provided proper anchoring (even though the coach was a jerk about it, saying it wasn't a threat since his keeper "wouldn't be hanging on the cross bar or anything."). Now, as an AR, if the referee does not enforce it and is willing to play without the goals being properly anchored, is it acceptable to simply leave the playing area and go home while making it known to the team staffs why you're leaving? Or is that in some way abdicating some responsibility? I would prefer to make my protest know, leave the complex, and notify the proper league authorities.
Hopefully, it's a good thing that this thread hasn't seen much action lately. If the goals weren't adequately anchored, I would clear the area and put my foot in front of the goal. If I at 6', 200+# couldn't pull the goal over, then it's probably anchored well enough. If it comes down, I think I'd wait until someone properly secures it. I've pulled several temporary goals down at our local complex and reported them to the Field Coordinator and the Referee Coordinator, whom no one wants to cross.
I have refused to work games when the CR said to play despite knowing about safety issues, but I tried to be proactive. I copied several newspaper clippings onto both sides of 8-1/2x11 paper. One paper for unsecured goals and another for lightning. I carried several of each in my referee bag. The first thing I did when I arrived was to check the goals. If there was a problem I would ask the home coach who was responsible for securing the goals. "Thanks, I need to tell him that the game shouldn't start until they are securely anchored to the ground." Then I did. If anyone made a deal about it I would get one or two of the sheets, hand them out, and flatly state that nothing like that wound happen on my watch. If the AR was there I would ask his permission to tell the home team that the goal must be anchored before the start. They were almost always happy to let me be the bad guy. If it seemed like he was not going to enforce it I would go get hime one of my papers. I would also ask him that if the USSF insurance would not cover refs who ran a 2-man system after they specified a DSC; did he think they would cover a ref who started a game with safety issues we had been specifically instructed about? I was not going to expose myself and my family to the potential finacial ruin; and more important, no player was going to be injured because I was unwilling to do my duty. It was rarely a problem for me. Many times parents overheard and thanked me and asked for a copy of my paper. I always had several in my bag.
IA, could you explain your 'test' again. I don't have a clear mental picture of what you are doing. Yesterday, I checked the goals on a brand new turf field. They are temporary/movable style that sit on top of the turf. There was only one sand bag at one end, ant it was not on the back rail. I positioned it across the middle of the back bar. (Obviously.) It wasn't incredibly stable, but absent 60 mph winds, the goal wasn't going anywhere. At the other end, there were 3 bags that were more or less on the rail. Not bad. (1) I might be the only ref that has checked the goals in the first month of use. (2) I wonder if I should have brought one of the sand bags down to make it two and two. (Or delegated this to the adult league players at that end.)
My test is pretty simple, but not an authorized test. If I can put my foot on the field side of the goal and pull the goal over, it wasn't sufficiently anchored. I have been able to pull over several of the temporary goals that are on our fields, and have left them down. The fields/goals weren't in use at the time. I've also repositioned sand or rock bags that weren't on the back bar or barely on it. I did my first U10 game in about 15 years last week and noted that the goal moved when I tested them. I noticed that the anchors that when through the back side of the goal were sticking out of the ground. I pushed them in, and the goal appeared quit stable after anchoring more securely.
Quite frankly, sand bags scare me. You have to worry about positioning and weight. Two sandbags are not enough weight to secure a 500# goal
Got it. Yeah, I am not a big fan either, especially when they are old and spilling out, and break open when you reposition them. The canvas ones with handles are better. This field had one canvas one, and 3 construction style ones. I should have snooped around to find a couple more. I am not a big fan of those loose anchors, either. Especially in the summer when you push them in with your foot and they just fall down into their hole. When there are 5 or 6 of them, they seem to hold OK. For better or worse, I don't carry a big old hammer in my bag.
That's a great idea. Maybe we'd get more respect as officials if before every game, we made certain the players saw us pull a big hammer out of our bag. I'd make certain it was "bloody" and I'd wipe it down with something that looks like a u-12 jersey. Sorry, we are nearing Halloween.
I've been doing the first 2 matches of the morning at our U8 Rec fields most days this season and we don't play if they're not anchored. Even though the field equipment box is a *long* hike away at the other end of the bigger field, and after the home side has sent someone and they return with corner flags and report there are no stakes in the box...the first time it happened I had a field marshall available with the league president's phone number- he got stakes for us by start time. The second time, I had a parent stand on the back of each goal for the entire game. Both games. And I let the incoming ref who had the 3rd and 4th games, and the one early arriving coach, know they weren't anchored before I left. Goes in the match report, too; and email to the league equipment coordinator- stakes are needed at Castillero small and for both fields at Williams.
Sorry if this has been dealt with in one of the previous 8 pages, but if one is dealing with an aluminum goal that has a stainless steel ground bar to provide balast, would this be sufficient anchoring? In practice, I have seen an alumiunum goal with this ground bar blow over. It blew BACKWARDS rotating on the ground bar, away from the keeper. On the other end of the field, the other goal--in the same wind, did not blow over, since the steel bar provided enough counter weight to keep it anchored. The comments about stakes in wet ground suggest that a good heavy steel ground bar is better anchoring than stakes, especially in wet conditions, but technically, is such a bar considered an "anchor"?
Any goal that blows over backwards or frontwards is dangerous!!! You can't guarantee someone won't be behind it next time it blows over. Get it anchored!