7 Popular Types of Custom Soccer Goals
Have you been searching all over, but can’t find the soccer goal you need for your situation? Maybe you can’t find it because it doesn’t exist – yet.
Don’t despair – there is good news – soccer goals can often be custom-built for special situations. Sometimes making a custom soccer goal is an easy process. It can be as simple as modifying the size of an existing goal. And sometimes it’s something much more involved, for example taking a concept from an initial thought sketched on a folded napkin to a full-blown new product design. The possibilities for custom soccer goals are endless. Wondering what some of the endless possibilities might look like?
Read on to learn about some of the most popular types of custom soccer goals. But don’t stop there. You are only limited by your creativity, imagination and in some cases, pocketbook.
Soccer Goals With Custom Width and/or Height
US Soccer has defined soccer goal sizes for the various age groups to use for competitions, (read about US Soccer Official goal sizes for youth competitions in our Ultimate Guide To U.S. Soccer Goal Dimensions & Materials 2022). You’ll find goals in these sizes on the market from multiple manufacturers at a variety of price points.
However, there are times you might want different size goals for training or informal competition. For instance, you might want small goals for 1 v 1 or 2 v 2 competitions, or you might need short but wide goals for shooting, or counter-attack goals of various sizes. Sure, you can find these goals manufactured as standard-size goals from various manufacturers. But in instances where you can’t find exactly what you are looking for we may be able to build custom goals for your needs. For example, we have built low and wide goals for coaches to use in training activities where shooting is emphasized. We have been asked for these so frequently that we finally wised up and made a standard goal that is 2.5′ high and 9′ wide. We call it the Widemouth Goal. And, bonus, we can still custom make these beauties for you in other sizes and colors.
Soccer Goals With Custom Back Depth
You may have a situation where you want to maximize your playing space so you’d like the goals to have a shorter back depth than usual.
This is possible to a point – you don’t want the back depth of your goal to be so shallow that you risk the goalkeeper hitting his/her head on the back post or the wall behind the goal. Also, if your goal’s back depth is too short the ball may pop right out of the goal after a shot. And, crucially, a shorter back-depth will affect the safety of the goal.
Please be aware, that any time you are building a movable soccer goal you need to have a certified engineer run calcs to determine the tipping point of the goal and calculate how much weight would need to be added to the goal to meet the American Society For Testing and Materials, (ASTM) standards. (Read about soccer goal safety and which ASTM standards apply here.) Normally soccer goals with shorter back depth require more weight to be added to the goal to meet ASTM standards, or the goal will need to be anchored to a wall, fence, or ground for safety.
One of our most common requests is for a Box-style Soccer Goal to fit in front of football goal posts. If need be we can often shorten the overall depth of the soccer goal to fit. However, if you have 7’ or more of depth we can provide our standard box-shaped soccer goal to fit in front of the football field goal post.
For goals with a shorter back depth, you can add pads to cover the back and side bottom bars as a safety measure.
Soccer Goals With Wheels Built Into the Frame
There are all sorts of soccer goals on the market with wheels added on, some with wheels built into the frame, and a variety of wheel kit options. However, the majority of them only allow you to move the goal forward and backward. What happens when you have to move the goal sideways to get it through a gate or into a storage area? A soccer goal with swivel caster wheels may be the answer.
What is a caster wheel?
A wheel can only go in one direction at a time because it has a single axis. A caster wheel has a wheel PLUS a mounting system that holds the wheel. There are two kinds of casters, fixed casters, (sometimes also referred to as rigid casters) and swivel casters. Rigid casters are best for things that only need to go forward and backward. Swivel casters rotate 360 degrees and thus can be used to turn objects. The caster wheels we use on our soccer goals are swivel casters.
At Keeper Goals we manufacture a wide variety of standard models of soccer goals that have wheels built into the frame. Our Ultimate Wheeled Goals series has been an industry classic since 1988. This original model was first made with 5 standard wheels built into the frame of the goal. In later years other models were developed including several different types of goals with 4 standard wheels and a swivel caster wheel on the back bar and several models with five swivel caster wheels. However, these standard models still don’t meet everyone’s needs. Some people need custom-sized goals with wheels, custom-colored goals with wheels, or goals with wheels in different configurations. And we can do all of this.
We recommend steel bases on wheeled soccer goals for safety and durability due to the weight needed on the base of the goal and the strength of a steel weld over an aluminum weld. We also recommend for turf surfaces the back wheel on a wheeled goal be a swivel wheel.
Custom Colored Soccer Goals
Before we get you all excited about painting your soccer goals avocado green or burnt umber please know the rules for many official competitions require soccer goalposts and crossbars to be painted white. This is the case for official competitions sanctioned by FIFA, the NCAA, the National Federation of High School Sports (NFHS), and many other organizations. (See our Ultimate Guide To U.S. Soccer Goal Dimensions & Material Requirements (2024) for information on what colors soccer goals need to be for various soccer organizations.) Always check to see which rules your organization follows before painting any soccer or futsal goals if they will be used in official competitions.
Interestingly some organizations’ rules allow for goals to be colors other than white. For example, the FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2022-23 state on page 18 “the goalposts and crossbar must be a different color to the pitch” and Major Arena Soccer League rules stipulate “The goal post and crossbar shall be red in color.”
Aside from official competition, there are reasons you might want your soccer or futsal goals to be a color other than the usual white. You might want goals in different colors purely for aesthetic reasons. Maybe you want your goals to be made in a certain color to help you establish brand awareness. Or maybe you want specific color goals for organizational purposes.
There are 3 common options for adding color to your goals:
- You can have your goals painted to coordinate with your club or school colors to add a professional look to your fields and build a school or club spirit. Some do this purely for aesthetic value. It just looks cool. Some do this for more practical reasons; to label fields for games, tournaments, or camps to help players, staff, and parents identify where they are supposed to be quickly and easily. (For example, you could label your fields yellow-north, yellow-south, and use yellow goals on these fields, red-east, red-west, and use red goals on these fields, etc.)
- You could add just a pop of color to a portion of a goal. The backup posts on our box-style Stadium Cup Goals are a popular spot for this. Choose to paint your backup posts to coordinate with your club or school colors to help brand your stadium and make your goals pop! Some choose just to paint the crossbar and uprights a different color, and some may choose to paint only the backstays on a traditional style goal.
- For goals that won’t be used for official competitions some opt to add stickers to add color with their club logo. (Note: for official competition goals the use of stickers is regulated.) There are so many possibilities!
At Keeper Goals we can easily paint your goals one of 8 standard custom colors, (red, orange, yellow, royal blue, navy blue, forest green, black, and white). We have the ability to match a huge variety of custom colors for an additional fee.
Soccer Goals To Fit in Front of Football Goal Posts
Sometimes, soccer goals must fit in front of things like a football goalpost. Sometimes a custom back bar is needed on the soccer goal so it can fit. For example, a common request is a soccer goal with a custom back bar with a ‘cut-out’ piece that can go around a football goalpost. It’s not uncommon for a high school football goalpost to have a 6′ overhang, and many soccer goals have an 8′ back depth. It is possible to make a soccer goal with a shorter back depth (see point 2 above. But if you want a goal with a normal back depth, customizing the back bar by to accommodate the football goalpost is also an option.
To judge what size back-depth a soccer goal could have that would fit in front of a football goalpost, measure the distance from the front of your soccer goal line to the front of the football field goalpost (in the ground). Download a measuring guide for putting a soccer goal in front of a football goalpost.
To customize the back bar of your soccer goal to accommodate a football goalpost we need to know the distance from the front of your soccer goal line to the front of the football field goalpost (in the ground).
For stadium cup goals, off-setting the middle backup post to avoid hitting the field goal post is also an option.
Soccer Goals Anchored to a Wall or Fence for Safety or as a Theft Deterrent
In some situations, it’s not possible to use common methods of anchoring your soccer goal. For example, if your goal is indoors on a gym floor or another surface where you can’t make a hole for a duckbill ground anchor, stake, or an auger, or if you are on a cement surface or a tennis court where you can’t create holes in the surface because holes can’t be put in the playing surface so other methods of anchoring the goals need to be utilized.
In these instances, there are several methods of anchoring or securing soccer goals, and the goals can be modified to accommodate these types of anchoring methods:
- Bolt the goal to the ground – base plates are welded onto the base of the goal to secure the goal to the ground
- Secure the goal to a wall, base plates are welded to the backstays of the goal to secure the goal to the wall
- Fabricate the goal with additional weight built into the frame of the goal.
- Add additional weight to the goal using anchor weights. Please note that anchor weights can be easily moved and need to be monitored to make sure they remain on the goals at all times!
At Keeper Goals our design team can do a goal analysis to determine how much weight would be needed to secure your goals as well as the best way to move your goals. Contact us for information at info@keepergoals.com or call us at 800-594-5126 M-F 8am-5pm CST.
Soccer Goals That Fold for Storage
If your storage space is at a premium you are likely looking for ways to conserve your storage space. Folding soccer goals can save a ton of space. This can be as simple as something like our Folding Aluminum Training Goals which simply fold in half and are Velcro’d together for easy transport and storage. (This is a standard product for example #ALUM42, #ALUM46, #ALUMFUTSAL, etc.) These Folding Aluminum Training Goals can also be custom-made in other sizes and custom colors.
Or, it can be a more elaborate folding goal like the custom-made goals designed for The Milwaukee Yard. The staff there needed to maximize space and had limited storage space. When the space wasn’t being used for soccer it was being used for other sports and activities, so they did not want soccer goals taking up precious space.
We designed and built a special version of our Ultimate Wheeled Soccer Goals that are attached to the wall and actually collapse and fold onto the wall when they are not in use. These goals are built of the same solid steel and aluminum tubing as the Ultimate Wheeled Soccer Goals, but because they are attached to the wall they only need two wheels on the base of each goal. The primary function of these two wheels is to guide and slide the goal as it closes and opens. The result is a durable, sturdy soccer goal that doesn’t hog all the valuable space in this indoor athletic facility.
Summary
So, if you have a need for a specific type of soccer goal to help you accomplish a specific purpose in training your team, help you organize your club, camp, or training facility, or just to look cool you do have options.
While the perfect goal for your situation may not have been built yet, there are endless possibilities for custom soccer goals. And if one of the popular types of custom soccer goals listed above isn’t exactly what you are looking for we’re open to discussing your ideas.
Have you heard of the Goalpher, a unique soccer goal that stores below basketball courts allowing basketball courts to easily convert to soccer pitches in urban areas? Well, the Goalpher was the brainchild of former MLS star and soccer analyst Kyle Martino. Our lead engineer, Chris Bielefeld, worked with Martino to bring his idea for a soccer goal that would pop up out of the ground to life. And now, through the Over Under Initiative – a non-profit organization founded by Martino dedicated to improving the health and wellness of kids by increasing access to sport in urban neighborhoods the Goalpher is changing lives across the United States. What might be possible if you pursue your idea for a custom soccer goal?
