KSL Investigators examine hundreds of soccer goals, discover many unsafe


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ST. GEORGE — We're smack dab in the middle of soccer season, a sport that thousands of kids in Utah play.

But there is a hazard on the field that many parents haven't even thought about — the goal. KSL Investigators examined hundreds of soccer goals at parks and schools to see how many are safe.

Chase Faldmo, 12, is a pretty good soccer player and a pretty great goalkeeper. But a few weeks ago, he was hurt during a practice on a Dixie State University field, not by another player, but by the goal itself.

"A gust of wind came and blew the goal right on top of me," Chase said.

The full-size, portable soccer goal landed on Chase's back, trapping him underneath. It took four people to lift it off him.

"It was really scary," remembers Chase.

"I had no idea, as a mom of a soccer player, that that was even possible," said Lori Faldmo, Chase's mom. "You just think they're so heavy, there's no way they could just get blown over."

The goals are heavy. Most are made of metal, weighing between 150 to 500 pounds. Chase's back and leg were badly bruised, but it could have been much worse. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says about 200 kids are hurt in the U.S. every year by soccer goals tipping over. In the last six years, they're aware of at least 10 deaths.

Deaths have included that of Jonathan Nelson, a fourth-grader killed at an Arkansas elementary school, and Juan Escalera, a 9-year-old killed while playing soccer with his family in North Carolina. Ten-year-old Hayden Ellias was killed during a soccer game in Pittsburgh.

"Just to hear the sad stories of moms who've lost their kids, it's upsetting," Faldmo said. "I could have been one of those moms. Chase could have been one of those kids."

The problem is this — portable soccer goals need to be anchored at all times, and just one anchor isn't good enough. Andrew Hiatt is CEO of the Utah Youth Soccer Association. He says portable goals should be anchored in the back and on each side. Hiatt also says they should be secured for games, practices or even if they're just sitting out, available for kids to play on.

"They either need to be staked down, sandbagged down and basically tight so they're not falling," Hiatt said.

But how many goals are really safe? The KSL Investigators decided to find out.

They checked 65 parks and schools from St. George to Layton and examined hundreds of soccer goals. Many were secured with chains, sandbags, weights, braces, iron rods, metal stakes or tied together. But sometimes even when anchored down, they were not necessarily safe and could easily be pushed over. And much of the time there was nothing holding the goal down at all.

In all, 59 percent of goals they checked had something anchoring them down. Whether it worked is another story. The other 41 percent of goals were not secured at all. It can be an issue with wind or just kids being kids.

"Kids in general love to climb and so they'll get on top of them," Hiatt said. "So whether they're staked, even in that case they'll be climbing on them and sometimes those stakes or sandbags will wiggle off."

"I'm a lot more scared than I used to be with them," Chase said.

Chase isn't giving up soccer, but his mom is definitely checking every field her son plays on and she's urging other parents to do the same. She's also started a GoFundMe account* to raise money to purchase sandbags for soccer goals in her area.

"Looking at those cute kids, looking at those parents who have no idea. I had no idea," Faldmo said. "I just think someone's going to get killed."

So who is ultimately responsible for making sure goals are secured? Hiatt says it's up to the referees during games. It's up to the coaches during practices. But parents should always check goals as well. If you feel like a goal or a field isn't safe, you can call the Utah Youth Soccer Association and they'll make sure it's fixed.


*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the accounts will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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Mike Headrick and Tania Mashburn

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