Choosing the Right Soccer Goal for Your Age/Skill Level

Soccer is immensely popular among young budding athletes, and it seems that, for kids, if they’re not getting started in the sport at a very young age, they end up getting left behind and caught in the numbers game. So if your youngster is getting started on “the beautiful game” at an early age, you might be facing a dilemma of what the right kind of soccer goal is appropriate for their skill level.

Soccer can be played with a goal of any size, but in order to practice with a goal that corresponds with what they’ll be playing with in their Saturday morning league games, there are specific size soccer goals that are made for players of different ages. Leagues all over the land stick to these rules for player ages and goal sizes, so you should learn them when you shop for a new soccer goal for your player, club or league.

How do I know what soccer goal size is right for my child’s age and skill level?

Children

For players age 6 and 7, the goal should be 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. Kids this age play on a pitch that is 15 yards wide and 20 yards long. Players who are age 8 use goal that is 6 1/2 feet high and 12 feet wide and they play on a field 30 yards wide by 50 yards long. At age 9, the goal stays 6 1/2 feet high, but it expands to 18 1/2 feet wide, and the field is 35 yards wide by 50 yards long.

Teens and Adults

The dimensions change again for 10-year-old soccer players, and at this point they stay the same for three years. Soccer players age 10-13 may play with goals that are anywhere between 6 1/2 feet and 8 feet tall and anywhere from 18 feet to 24 feet wide. At age 13, the goal size and the fields are considered to be at an adult level and do not change again. From age 13 on up, the goal is 8 feet high and 24 feet wide. The pitch for adult soccer players can be anywhere between 50 yards by 100 yards and 80 yards by 120 yards.