For American hurling players, there's no denying that a hurley quickly becomes a very personal thing. You know the balance, the weight, the sweet-spot, and what angle to hold when sprinting into a lift (plus, if you bought it from Ireland it took forever to get here!).
Broken sticks happen. There is no getting around that, though it is a bit of a 'gut check' moment when it happens.
You and that stick have history, right?
The good news is that hurl can be fixed in nearly every case. It may never see the pitch again but that old friend can still help you through wall-ball drills and other, lower-impact, activities.
You only need a few things to fix it up:
- U-Pol Tiger Seal (recommended by our supplier, Paul Maher)
- Hand Stretch Film or wood clamps
- Adhesive applicator (bamboo skewers work great)
- Broken, but repairable hurley
That last item is tricky. It is not hard to find a broken hurl, it is another matter to determine if it is repairable or not. See the video below for a rundown of how to know if it can be fixed, how to save or store it until repair, and how to make the repair.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we go through post-repair cleanup and some more advanced damage repair.