Palatine Play It Again Sports offers more than sporting goods

When you love a sport, you're all in. And while your skills, strength, and coordination improve the more you practice, your equipment can end up with some wear and tear.

Taking care of your equipment helps it perform better for you. When you get it serviced, you're protecting your investment in it-helping it last longer, for more rounds, games, matches, or time on the ice.

At Play It Again Sports, we're more than a place to purchase new and used sporting goods. We also offer a variety of maintenance services for your sports equipment.

Golf club regripping

Did you know that two-thirds of golfers never re-grip their clubs? After just 30 rounds of play, your grips start to wear down from friction, sweat, cold, and dirt. Your grips can become slick and non-tacky, forcing your hands to tighten on your clubs. That tight grip can get in the way of your free-flowing swing.

While there are ways to extend the life of your grips-such as washing them in warm water with a touch of dish soap, they do wear out. If you're wondering if it's time for new grips, examine yours carefully. If you can see wear patterns or small finger imprints, if the surfaces are shiny or tacky, or if you see grit and grime, it's time to replace your grips.

The off-season is the ideal time to have your set re-gripped. When you do, you'll find that a refreshed, better connection to your clubs puts new confidence into next year's swing.

Lacrosse heads restringing

Because your lacrosse pocket affects the track and whip of your ball, it's crucial to take care of your stick properly. Make a habit of checking your pocket before and after each game and practice. If you notice mesh that is torn or frayed, or if you see loose or fraying sidewall string, it's time to have your lacrosse head restrung. (Many players bring a backup head to each game-and ensure that it is always in top shape, too.)

If you've played in the rain, your pocket may have bagged out and deepened. To prolong its life, absorb excess moisture with newspaper. On the other hand, hot weather can shrink the pocket, and you can gently reshape it after immersing the head in warm water.

When it's time to restring, though, come on in to see our pros. They know exactly how to string your lacrosse head and customize it with mesh, laces, sidewalls, and top string.

Skate sharpening

Hockey players and figure skaters need to have their skates sharpened regularly. Sharpening creates a shape-called a hollow-between the two edges of the skate blade. The shape is created by passing the skate blade along a grinding wheel (sometimes called a finishing wheel). The shallower the hollow, the more speed and glide the skater has; the deeper the hollow, the more grip or bite he or she has.

Regardless of hollow shape preference, skates require regular sharpening to protect and extend the life of the blade.

Mitt restringing

Baseball and softball players invest a lot of time into softening their gloves and mitts. When mitts begin to wear out, it's hard to part with them. Often the first place that wear shows is in the mitt's laces. By replacing broken or worn-out strings, you can extend the life of your trusty mitt.

Our pros know exactly how to restring a mitt to give it new life for hours-and games-of additional play.

At Play It Again Sports in Palatine, we specialize in fitness, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, football and soccer. When it comes to fitting sports equipment, we know our stuff. Our staff members are trained to provide athletes with the best possible fit in the gear they need to play the game. We make sure you have the right equipment for your sport-and that it performs for you.

Stop in and see us at 315 E. Northwest Highway or call us at (847) 221-8260.