Ask and You Shall Receive

Heidi, ever the conscientious coach, did some research into dribbling drills for 5 and 6-year-olds when the head coach let her know that she would be handling that station at today's practice. She found one that looked fun but required hoops, like croquet, but big enough for a soccer ball. 

"Are you going to the store today?" she asked me this morning. "Will you look for hoops?"

"Where, at the hoop store?" I grumbled irritably, but agreed. 

My first stop was Target, and although I thoroughly scoured their sporting goods aisles, I did not find anything useful. At my next stop, the big box sporting goods store near us, I found two dozen adorable little cones, which I purchased, but no hoops. It occurred to me that a hardware store might carry something we could repurpose, so that big box was my next stop, unfortunately, to no avail. 

I knew there was a craft store around the back of the strip mall, and so I headed there next. On the way, I spotted a five-dollar store I'd forgotten about, and so I parked in between and went there first. There was nothing in their sports section that would work either on its own or with the mini cones, and I was just about to walk out when I saw a box of pool noodles on clearance for a buck a piece. 

I plucked one from the box and bent it into an arc thoughtfully. A possibility was definitely there, but I needed something to hold it in place. I figured I could spare two dollars in pursuit of the concept, and so I skipped the craft store and headed home, mulling the situation over.

The cones were out, although they were so cute I knew both Heidi and the kids would be charmed by them, and so they were in on their own. Back at the house, I cut the noodles in half and considered how they could be kept in the shape of an arch. I thought of garden stakes, and then it hit me. Wooden skewers! I took one of my half noodles outside with a couple of skewers and stuck them in the ground. Then I bent the noodle and threaded the skewers through the center hole. 

Voila! There was a colorful dribbling hoop. Total cost? Fifty cents.

And? They were a big hit at practice, too.