Build your own box lacrosse goal

Buying an official 4’9″ x 4′ box lacrosse is not cheap. Have you considered building your own for training and social use? My design is robust and can be easily dismantled for transport in any car all for a total cost of less than £40 per goal. It’s not fully FIL-compliant but I don’t plan on hosting the World or European Indoor Championships any time soon.

Home made box lacrosse goal for £40

What you need per goal, and where to get it

Metal Pipes

4 x 4′ steel scaffolding pipe sections (or any metal pipe that is 48.3mm / Size D in diameter or slightly thinner)

1 x 5′ steel scaffolding pipe section

I don’t propose buying such pipe at cost price. I found someone who had spare pipe just lying around. Given it’s used in most construction jobs you should find some somewhere for free or minimal cost. Scaffolding pipe is slightly overkill for the required strength but does mean the goal is robust.

Pipe Connectors

4 x corner pipe connectors 48.3mm in diameter (£3.60 each)

2 x knuckle pipe connectors 48.3mm in diameter (£9 each)

Pipe connectors of 48.3mm / Size D diameter is an industry standard and close enough to the FIL regulation of 2″ (50.8mm) for training and social use.

Netting

I found reclaimed building site netting from the Milton Keynes Play Association which I bought for £10 and gave me sufficient netting to create 2 goals. Every major town should have an equivalent organisation that supports their local community. Whilst not as robust as official goal netting, it’s cheap. Of course nothing is stopping you buying official goal nets and fixing them to this home made metal frame.

Other Things

Bungee Ball ties – To fix/unfix the goal net. 12 ties is enough for a single goal (£5)

Zip ties – To securely fix the net to the base. Everyone had these somewhere in the house (£free)

6mm hex key to tighten the pipe connectors – Most people have these at home (£free)

Angle grinder to cut the steel pipe – Borrow one from a friend (£free)

Red or orange metal paint (optional) – 1 can of spray paint was sufficient for a goal (£5)

Total Material Cost = £38.40 per goal

How to build a goal

  1. Cut 3″ from the 5′ section to make the 4’9″ crossbar (FIL compliant width). Keep the 3″ cut off as you’ll need that later. Scaffolding pipe is thick, it will take a while for even an angle grinder to cut through it, be patient.
  2. If you want to paint the pipes, do it now.
  3. For the base, use the 3″ cut off to join together the 2 x knuckle connectors. This makes the end of the base that can open/close the supporting base legs. Attach the 2 x 4′ base pipes and attach a corner connector (which the post will drop into). Note. Such a base is not FIL compliant as does not use flat pipe.
  4. Fix 2 corner connectors to each end of the crossbar.
  5. The frame of the goal can then be put together by opening up the base, dropping in the two posts followed by the crossbar.
  6. Now lay over the net and shape to fit the goal. Remember to give the net plenty of sag. Use zip ties to attach the net to the base. Use the elastic ties to fix the net to the posts and along the crossbar.

How to assemble / disassemble

Should be obvious as comes in four parts;

  • Base with net attached
  • 2 x pipes
  • Crossbar

Keep the corner connectors attached to the base and crossbar, leaving the sides as plain pipes with no connectors attached. This makes assembly much easier. When disassembling, fix all the elastic straps to the crossbar so they don’t get lost.

To assemble, layout the base and open it out. Drop in the two side pipes and connect with the crossbar. Tighten up the pipe connectors with the hex key. Now lift the net up over the frame and fix with the elastic ties. You’ll need at least two ties at each top corner to keep the net secure.

If you want to convert the goal into the more Canadian 4’6″ or 4′ width, just cut a shorter section of pipe for the crossbar.