While the rest of the country celebrates the start of fall and the onset of the cooler weather, here in California it is still warm and summer like.  It is actually some of the best weather of the year for getting outside and playing. So today, I partnered with the California Milk Advisory Board and the Fuel up to play 60 campaign, I’m bringing you this super short, easy and inexpensive tutorial to build your own soccer goal, which gives kids a reason to head outside and play!


My youngest daughter is an avid soccer player and I thought DIY’ing our own soccer goal would be a great way to get her outside and playing. A lot of school children in California aren’t getting enough exercise on a daily basis and the Fuel Up and Play 60 Program (in partnership with the National Fooball League, the US Department of Agriculture, and the National Dairy Council) encourages kids to get outside and play for 60 minutes a day.

This program also encourages kids to “fuel up” with low fat dairy products, lean meats, whole grains as well as fruits and vegetables.  California schools can participate in the program and can apply for up to $4000 in funding if they are eligible.

As a result, 38 million students are eating healthier and getting more active!  That is a huge win!  
I am doing my part to encourage my own children to be more healthy and active, by giving them access to one of their favorite sports, soccer, with this relatively large easy-to-assemble PVC goal:

The supplies are simple (and my total cost was about $25)
Two 10-foot long 3/4 inch (Schedule 40) PVC pipes (I had them cut in half to fit in my car!)
6 “L” PVC coupling fittings (make sure you get 3/4 inch schedule 40)
4 “T” PVC coupling fittings
1 roll of 3.3 foot tall plastic landscape fencing
Zip Ties

Optional:
PVC cutter (otherwise you need to cut it on the table saw or with a hack saw)
PVC cement   (I didn’t glue my together, I thought it was already pretty strong, but this is good insurance)



The cut list for the PVC is as follows:
4 @ 24 inches
4 @ 18 inches
2 @ 33 inches
2 @ ~42 inches (this is a tight fit and these may need to be trimmed slightly)

Here is a diagram for how all the segments go together:


And here is where the fittings go exactly:

When you have assembled your frame you will end up with something like this:
Finally you need to add the netting on.  Because the netting is only 40 inches wide, you need to run attach three separate strips to the goal.  Because of this you will have plenty of overhang on both ends to wrap the sides:
You will want to use plenty of zip ties to hold the net on.  I went back and cut off the tails on all the zip ties when I was through. It gave it a much cleaner appearance.

Here is the final goal.  I thought it looked really great for being DIY.
But the best part is that my daughter likes it, and if that encourages her to get outside.
If your child’s school isn’t part of the program, it isn’t too late to apply!  The deadline to apply to receive funding is November 4, 2015.  To sign up an eligible school visit FuelUpToPlay60.com

This is a sponsored post on behalf of the California Milk Advisory board. For my full policy on sponsored content, please visit this post.