Sad, sad day

[byualum]

C'mon, you all have that one piece of equipment that might be a piece of junk, but you've played with it for so long you love it...Well, last night mine broke. A green, Brine Shotgun head that I've played with since my freshman year at BYU (1990), gave up the ghost last night, broken on a poke-check against a 7th grader at practice last night.

What's the piece of gear you just love? Or what gear have you busted that upset you?

[ZagGrad]

I had an original matrix (super pinched which allowed me to pick up ground balls with the back of the head) with monster mesh. It broke in our alumni game in October. I'm waiting to purchase another one so I can transfer the pocket. What a sick stick.

[tamu33]

Back in the old days I was a goalie and my very first throat guard lasted me three years. Then in the freezing cold of upstate new york, a rocket from the top of the box shattered it and left me with a scar on my neck.... oh the memories... I mean pain.

I still have my orginal stick (also a shotgun, but dark blue) haven't really played with it in ages. Last time I checked, the mesh was rock hard. My condolences for you loss, the stick was a legend.

[jessexy]

i still have my first stick, a hi-wall, but did break the wooden shaft it had when it was first given to me. what a shame, what a shame. everyone was afraid of me cuz i was a rookie with a wooden stick swinging at every arm i saw.

[bste_lax]

My first stick was a Brine Wave back in middle school. That is sitting in my garage at my parents house.

My first "big boy" stick was an Edge that is in my bag. My first stick I really used was a Revolution that I had from junior year in high school until sophomore year at Iowa. Warming up for the our first game of the year in the Bubble against Rolla, and the thing cracked on me. I then taped it up and about every quarter, it cracked more and more. I still have it in my bag with all the tape on it.

[tlaing1]

I'm still trying to find a Turbo.......and I cry about it every night

[UNH2001]

I remember when my old Turbo broke. It was my first stick, from back in Virginia in 7th grade. Must have been about 2 years ago, but during a snowstorm in Boston I decided to play catch with a friend. I threw the bright orange ball and it bounced off the top of the Turbo. After spending a few minutes looking for the ball in the snow, my buddy noticed the Turbo was done. He had not only failed to catch the ball, but had broken the Turbo. I fixed it with duct tape, but it just isn't the same. I still have it in case anyone else wants to have a catch during a snowstorm.

[Billy White Shoes]

The store section on e-lacrosse.com has some good deals on out-of-production stuff like highwalls and vipers for about twenty beans if anyone's interested. Lots of other stuff for cheap too. You could replace your shotgun with a highwall since they're nearly identical.

[Laxman50]

Zaggrad the same for me. My matrix just went this week. Had it for 3 years best head I ever had snifff snifff

[onpoint]

Great topic! Mine was when the mesh for my 2003 championship stick - yes that is what I call it, and it is still one of my most cherished possessions - finally broke (thanks to Nick Stanitz-Harper in an indoor practice). This thing could throw darts and it helped make some of the biggest saves of my life. You all know how goalies can be about their sticks. Now it sits next to the computer in a dilapidated state while the new monster mesh gets the post-collegiate glory. I could never bring myself to unstring it so I think it will remain a memento, but still, as you said, a sad, sad day.

[green tea]

i still have my first stick, a hi-wall, but did break the wooden shaft it had when it was first given to me. what a shame, what a shame. everyone was afraid of me cuz i was a rookie with a wooden stick swinging at every arm i saw.

that's my stick! i gave that to you and i want it back!

it was passed down to me from a CT that played in the early 90's, with the maroon dye job and CORPS stickers. that thing was old as dirt. can't believe it lasted that long.

[Campbell]

I still have my first Hi-wall and my first two aluminum shafts. Of course they are the only ones that fit the head anymore. I had a yellow Turbo though that I was very attached too. I played with it for a while and snapped it in an indoor tournament. I had just restrung it the night before too. I guess I should have left well enough alone. I still have another Turbo that I stopped stringing about halfway through. It lingers in my closet mocking my wife.

[dv]

byualum
Sorry to hear about your loss, especially to a 7th grader. But I got a good laugh out of your story.

[Walter]

C'mon, you all have that one piece of equipment that might be a piece of junk, but you've played with it for so long you love it...Well, last night mine broke. A green, Brine Shotgun head that I've played with since my freshman year at BYU (1990), gave up the ghost last night, broken on a poke-check against a 7th grader at practice last night.

What's the piece of gear you just love? Or what gear have you busted that upset you?

did you make the kid do push-ups at least. Stupid seventh graders breaking sticks and the like. Come to think of it, i would kick him off the team.

[laxfan25]

Senior year in high school I had a wood defense stick (and I don't mean just the shaft!) This was before the first STX plastic stick was introduced the next year. At that time, buying a stick was a real process - you'd go to the store and select from the assortment they had, looking for one that had good balance (each stick was individually made of course). since the head was wood on one side and gut on the other, if it wasn't well-balanced it was a pain to cradle. Also the pockets, which were truly traditional (leather with gut weaving) were flat and stiff as a board. Breaking in a pocket was a major endeavour and a major pain, and if you played in rain -forget it!
Anyway, I cracked the head at the corner picking up a ground ball - disaster! I went out and bought a fibergalass repair kit - wrapping mesh around and coating with resin. Added a pound or so to the weight and it lasted a couple days...bummer.
You guys with plastic heads don't know how good you've got it! Buy 'em over the 'net, pockets can be ordered pre-made - what a joy!
At the Lacrosse Museum they have a display on an Indian in upstate New York who still makes wood sticks, what a process he goes through! From taking a piece of tree through cutting, steaming, bending and aging - it's almost a year! Makes you appreciate the work that goes into making a true traditional stick!