This is a good question, and to be honest as much as we wish we could give you one, there’s no straight-forward answer. However, we can tell you that it’s not that often, so you’re in luck. Realistically, each stick has a different life-span, and some parts of the full stick require more routine maintenance than others. Let’s start with basic routine maintenance and some key signs that your stick needs replacing in order to get the most time out of your stick, while avoiding any major breaks when it matters most.
Stringing
You should replace your strings before every season to make sure you don’t have your old strings affecting your play. Old, weather effected mesh can get stiff and deformed, making your passes, shots and overall control inconsistent. As a means of precaution to prevent inconsistencies in your game, as well as sidewall blow outs while in the middle of a game or tryout or tournament etc., we would recommend restringing your head at least once a year before the main season. This may need to be done more frequently if your mesh sees a lot of weather damage, but annually is a good place to start.
There are also visual signs when your strings are starting to get to the point where they will affect your performance, or even break. If you start to see fraying or ripping in your sidewall, you should look to get your head re-strung ASAP. This kind of damage can result in a sidewall blow out, which means you will have a huge hole in your mesh and won’t be able to even hold the ball in your head. Even if you start to see fraying in your shooting strings or overall mesh, it’s a good idea to get it re-strung. There’s no reason to risk it if you don’t have to. On a less serious note, if your mesh starts to feel stiff, or appear brownish/gray, these are signs of weather damage. While this may not cause your mesh to rip or break from the head, these issues can affect your performance, and it may be worth getting new string.
Shaft
The Shaft is probably the most durable part of the complete stick. But, they’re not indestructible, and actually break more often than you would think. Sometimes these breaks can be self-induced (trust us, we’ve gotten mad on the field too), but try to keep your cool and not snap these over your knee – they’re expensive. Regardless, sometimes these can snap from checks. Be sure to check your shaft fairly regularly. Any dinks or dents can lead to a break if there is repeated contact in this area, so it’s a good idea to have an extra shaft on hand just in case this one snaps.
Heads
Your head might not even be showing signs of wear and tear, but still be affecting your performance on the field. The shape of your head can be warped, which can often go unnoticed, but it will affect your performance. Always be sure to check the shape of your head every few weeks to make sure it’s still holding its original shape. Especially be mindful of this when you play in very hot or very cold temperatures, these are factors that directly cause your head to warp. After warping, be sure to routinely check for cracks and chips. These are rare but can lead to shattering of the head, which isn’t ideal for any one.
Realistically, you can take all of the preventative measures to make sure your stick is in good shape, and a part of it can break at any point out of pure bad luck. It’s very important to keep a back-up shaft and completely strung head just in case you are in game or at a tournament and have an untimely break. You’re going to need something to use so that you can continue playing under these circumstances. Try to have your back-ups be as close to your primary stick as possible so that your performance stays consistent, but if they are different, be sure to know the limitations and advantages of each stick. Good luck out there, and hopefully you won’t get stuck without a stick in a bad time – can’t say we didn’t warn you!
