'Overtime' for old sports gear

If the garage is starting to get that musty locker-room look, maybe it's time to get rid of some of that old sports equipment.

But before adding those old golf clubs or that used volleyball to a landfill, consider putting the stuff in someone else's hands. You can sell it at a yard sale. Give it to a friend. Or donate it to charity. There's even a way to recycle those old dirty sneakers.

"Every product has a life span of two cycles at least. Or maybe three," says Mike May, spokesman for Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association International, in North Palm Beach, Fla. "You can always restring a tennis racket; you can always put a new shaft in a golf club. [And] the network is far more organized than it ever was" to get the goods to people who could really use it.

For example: The week before January's Super Bowl in San Diego, while most fans were concentrating on football, the National Football League was organizing a sports equipment and book collection from local schools.

Students collected several truckloads of footballs, baseballs, and other equipment that went to local programs for needy children.

"They were surprised by the number of donations," says Bruce Golden, spokesman for San Diego Youth and Community Services, a private charity. The payoff: "You get kids out participating in sports - actually get them out and doing things."

Many people already recycle sports equipment informally, passing it on to family members or friends. Increasingly, however, the sports world is offering new ways to get even more bang out of aging bats and balls.

One way is to take them to one of 500 Play It Again Sports franchises in the United States and Canada. The stores handle used as well as new equipment and encourage customers to come in and trade or sell their used goods. "It's a fantastic way for moms and dads and kids to stay involved in sports and not cost an arm and a leg," says Steve Murphy, director of Play It Again Sports, a division of Winmark Corp., in Minneapolis.

The better the item and its condition, the more customers can earn - either in cash or a trade-in. For example, a pair of $200 youth hockey skates might fetch $40 to $50, he explains, and then be resold by the store for $80 to $100.

Another avenue: Give the stuff away - and maybe earn a tax deduction. Local groups - the Boy Scouts or schools or adult leagues in needy neighborhoods - might be able to use the equipment directly. A recognized charity might find a good home for the gear, or sell it and use the proceeds to fund its programs.

A tip: Don't palm off junk to a charity. "If you wouldn't give it a friend or a relative, don't give it to Goodwill," says Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries International in Bethesda, Md.

Some charities organize specific drives to help children overseas. Last summer, World Vision launched its "Get A Kick Out of Sharing" initiative. Over the next three years, it aims to collect 250,000 soccer balls for some of the world's poorest kids.

"They love soccer, but they don't have the equipment," says Karen Kartes, spokeswoman for World Vision, in Federal Way, Wash. "They end up making balls out of rags or plastic bags." So far, the charity has collected 3,000 balls and sent some 1,000 of them to Burundi and the Congo.

Some manufacturers are taking matters into their own hands. Hillerich & Bradsby, maker of the famed Louisville Slugger, cuts up its returned aluminum baseball and softball bats. The Louisville, Ky., company then polishes the pieces and resells them as $9.99 fishing-rod holders and $4.99 penholders.

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