The Head of Parks and Recreation for Steinbach says the death of a teenager in Ontario has prompted his department to examine soccer nets on city property.

Fifteen-year-old Garrett Mills had been doing chin-ups on a soccer goal post in Napanee, Ontario when the net came crashing on top of him, killing him instantly.

(Sticker on goal post at Steinbach soccer park)Russ Dyck says soccer nets being used in Steinbach are designed differently than the one that killed the Ontario teen.

"Our nets have all been designed so that the weight is counterbalanced and it's fairly difficult to tip them," explains Dyck. "They have enough depth on them versus the height that they become more difficult to tip."

He adds, the large nets in Steinbach are built of aluminum and are somewhat lighter than the old steel ones.

Having said that, Dyck told Steinbachonline.com last week that there probably were some nets on city property that had not been properly anchored. He suggested they should all be anchored by the end of last week.

But Dyck says sometimes anchors are removed by the public. For example, when groups choose to use the soccer nets in the evening, they might remove the anchors in order to adjust the size of the field. He says the problem then is that often the nets are not returned to their original spot. Dyck says that in itself can be problematic when the anchor is left in long grass and then run over by maintenance staff. According to Dyck, removing the anchors is highly discouraged and there will be signs going up shortly to remind the public.

Meanwhile, the Superintendent for Hanover School Division says all goal posts on division property are either fixed in place or anchored down.

"We do have some portable soccer nets but in every case where they are portable they have anchors to them to keep them from flipping over," Dueck assures.

He too says their nets do not weigh as much as the one that killed the Ontario teen.

Dueck says this is an area the school division has been proactive in recent years.

"I can remember some schools just recently bought some new soccer posts and we said they have to be secured," recalls Dueck. "If they are portable they have to be able to be secured."