Make Your Own Sports Gear

Don't got the cash to buy new sports equipment? No problem. Find out how you can make your own sports gear.

Homemade Sports Gear - Raise A Racket

Buying brand new tennis gear can cost you a lot of bling - but if you're a bit creative, you can hook yourself up with a homemade tennis racket for almost nothing.

Here's what you need:

Find a metal coat hanger and bend it into a diamond shape. Bend the hook of the hanger into a loop.

Steal a pair of your mom's nylons or a thin sock and pull it over the hanger as tightly as possible. Wrap any extra nylon around the loop to make a handle.

Cover the handle with tape.

Scrunch up a piece of paper or tin foil to use as a ball and you're ready to go.

Make two rackets and hit the paper ball back and forth with a friend using your homemade rackets.

It may not be exactly like regular tennis but it's fun and it's free!

Homemade Sports Gear - Make Your Own Soccer Ball

Kids in many parts of the world, who don't have the money to buy a new soccer ball, have been making their own for years. You can make your own soccer ball by collecting a bunch of plastic bags and tying them into a ball with a piece of string. Your homemade ball may not have the exact same shape or bounce like a regulation size ball, but it's cheap to make and is a good way of using recycled materials.

Homemade Sports Gear - Build Your Own Skate Rail

A good skateboard rail can cost around $150 to $200 but you can build your own with a trip to the junkyard and some help from a parent or a teacher. Go to your nearest dump and look around for some old pieces of iron or metal. A good piece of square iron can be used for the rail and the supports while some pieces of flat iron can be used for the base. Get a parent or a shop teacher to help you cut two pieces of square iron about a foot long for the legs and one piece about eight to 10 feet long for the rail. Weld the legs to the rail and then weld on the flat pieces of iron for your base. When your homemade rail has been put together, file and sand off any rough and sharp edges. This may seem like a pretty big project but with the right tools and the help of an adult, you can be skateboarding on your own rail for dirt cheap.

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Read more: Sports Gear