How To String A Lacrosse Head? Detailed Guide

How To String A Lacrosse Head – Stringing the lacrosse head can be a challenging task especially for the beginner lacrosse players.

With practice, patience and a good guide, you’ll be able to string the lacrosse head with a perfect pocket. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to string a lacrosse head.

We’ll configure the lacrosse head with mid-pocket setup.

Mid-pockets are super versatile and they are perfectly suitable for professionals as well as beginners. Let’s jump in without waiting any further.

Materials You Need

Before we jump-start the procedure to string the lacrosse head, you need to keep a few things ready. Here are the items you need to string the lacrosse head.

• Lacrosse head
• Lacrosse ball
• A lighter to burn off the excess strings.
• Scissors to cut the extra strings.
• Mesh
• Pliers for tightening the string.
• Strings (1 medium length nylon string, 2 long sidewall strings, 1 short bottom string, 3 shooter strings)
• Stringing tools

These are the accurate lengths of the lacrosse strings you need to take

• 2 Lacrosse long sidewall length – 22-24 Inches
• 1 Lacrosse short bottom string length – 6-8 Inches
• 3 Lacrosse shooting strings: As per your requirement

Things You Need to Know

You need to know about these things before you start stringing your first lacrosse head. These terms are used throughout this guide, so it is a good idea to have a clear idea of them.

• Pocket

A pocket regulates the ball and it will make it sit in the head. It has a basket shape. Here we are going to make a mid-pocket.

• Mesh

Mesh is the material we use here to create the pocket. We recommend 10 diamond hard mesh for stringing your first lacrosse head. You need to prepare the mesh first before starting the actual procedure. Refer the next section for the instructions to prepare the mesh.

• Scoop

The top portion of the lacrosse head is called a scoop.

• Shooters

Shooters are the strings that manage the movement of the ball coming out of the lacrosse head when shooting and throwing. These strings resemble the shoelaces.

• Sidewall

We string the long side of the head with 2 long nylon strings to create Sidewall

• Whip

The whip is the term used to tell how early the lacrosse ball has come out from the head.

Prepare the Mesh

As mentioned above, you need to prepare the mesh before starting to string the lacrosse head.

• Get your mesh and carefully observe for the front, back, top and bottom. The rougher side of the mesh in the front. The side with 9 diamonds is the top. The side with 10 diamonds is the bottom.
• Stretch out the mesh. The best way to stretch the mesh is by running it under the hot water. Just run the hot water for 5-10 minutes. It’ll make the mesh soft and easy to stretch.
• Take the top row ( the side with 9 diamonds). Fold it parallel to the next 9-diamond row. Make sure that the 2 rows are evenly set. Now, you’ll have the clean and nice row of holes to deal with. Organize all the strings, so that you can string them in the right places.
• Take the top string or middle string and tie a double knot at one end and nearly 1/2 inch from the other end.
• Pull the string from the top hole of the sidewall. Pull out the string from the first diamond and take the string through the first hole (the same hole) in the sidewall. This ensures that the string stays strong and tight.
• You have successfully tied the first knot. You can notice that the mesh has got tight on one side. Now, we have to string it on all other sides. Take the string and take it out from the first diamond. Here the end of the string comes toward you. Take the string from the top hope of the scoop. Take it through the following diamond for 2 or 3 times to create a loop. Tighten the string by pulling it.
• Pull out the string from the backside of the mesh again from the same hole of the scoop front. Take it through the loop you have created and tighten it. You have successfully tied the first top string knot. Now you have to repeat the same process. Skip one diamond for tying each knot. Generally, you’ll have 4 knots in total. However, you can tie more knots if you need. Make sure that you are using the larger holes on the scoop.
• Now, let’s move on the other side of the lacrosse head. We repeat the same process here. Tie a double knot to ensure it is tight and strong. Tie a single knot on the opposite side. At this stage, the mesh must be even from top to bottom. Use the scissors to cut off the extra strings.  Melt the end of the strings with lighter. This avoids strings from fraying.

You have completed preparing the mesh.

The centre of the mesh will be even with the center of the head. Just make sure that you are applying even tension throughout the task so that everything will be even.

Now, it’s time to prepare the sidewalls. Jump to the next section for instructions to make the sidewalls for the lacrosse head.

Prepare the Sidewalls

Now that you have already installed the top string and prepared the mesh, you are all ready to make the sidewalls for your lacrosse head.

Please note that this can impact the placement of the pocket you are going to have on your lacrosse head.

There are half a dozen ways to string the lacrosse head. But only a few of them are really popular.

According to the president of East Coast Dyes, Greg Kenneally, the mid-pocket system is the best set up to provide the best experience.

The mid-pocket system ensures a smooth release and good hold which is what a lacrosse player dreams of. This is also the best option for the beginners of the game.

• Pull your string right through the subsequent hole down through the top string from outside in. Note that there must be a knot on the opposite end. Skip the sidewall hole and pull the string through the outside and take the string through the diamond which is next to the sidewall hole. Take out the string from under the slack. Tighten the string to create a secure interlock.
• Please note that if there is a lot of space between the sidewall holes, then you need not skip the hole. Ensure that all the knots are perfectly tight as we have mentioned above, this step is going to influence your pocket. You’ll get the right kind of pocket if all the knots are super tight. The tight channel ensures that the pocket will have a great hold and it will shoot and throw the ball in a smooth way!
• Make the same kind of knots till you go halfway down the lacrosse stick. Now, it’s time to double up for create your pocket. Put your string and pull it from under the next diamond on the mesh. Put it out from the top and take it from under the next mesh diamond. Again take it out from the top. Pull the 2 diamonds closely to double up. Tighten the interlock.
• Pull out the string and repeat the same interlock pattern. Move all the way to the bottom with the same process. Just pull the string from the backside of the mesh and take it inside-out from the sidewall and tightly tie the knot.
• Repeat the same process for the other side of the sidewall. Most of the time there will be nine diamonds at the downside of the sidewall. However, you can make use of the tenth diamond if you desire for depth. Now, you may see that the mid pocket has taken its shape. Now, it’s time to complete creating the mid-pocket for your lacrosse head.

Create the Pocket

• Stretch the pocket portion to complete creating it. Put the wet mesh under running hot water for a couple of minutes to be able to stretch the mesh. Use a lacrosse ball, like throw the ball in it and take it out from the both sides to shape up the pocket.
• The best way to shape the pocket is by holding the lacrosse ball and sliding the butter knife across the head. Or just hold the ball in the pocket for half an hour or so. Check if your pocket is turning out to be a deeper one. If you notice a lot of depth, you can adjust it by tightening the bottom string. Anyways, don’t bother about the depth of the pocket as it’s going to return legal depth most of the time.
• You can complete creating the pocket by using the holes on the bottom of the head. Tie a knot on one end and pull the other end of the string through any of the two holes at the bottom of the head. Note that the following diamond row of the sidewall must have 10 diamonds. Make sure that you are not using a 9 diamond row as there won’t be evenness.
• Now, take out the string through the first diamond of the 10-diamond row. Weave the string across all the diamonds. Take the string through any of the two holes at the bottom side of the lacrosse head and tie a tight knot. Use lighter and scissors to melt and cut the excess threads.

Now you have successfully created a perfect mid-pocket.

In the next step, we’ll see the procedure to install the shooting strings.

These shoelace strings should be well within the first four inches of the lacrosse head measuring from the top side of the scoop.

You have to weave these strings lightly on the mesh. The loosest string must be the one which is closest to the ball.

As you move your way up, the shooting strings must become tighter. Check out the next section of this article to install the shooter strings.

Though some players play the game without shooting strings, we recommend you to have them for the best game experience.

Preparing Shooter Strings

Shooter strings are not compulsory to play the game. But they allow the player to customize the shoot and throws of the lacrosse ball.

• Shooter strings are similar to shoelace strings. Use the special shooter strings instead of nylon strings. Nylon strings will not freely let you follow through. They also add an unnecessary whip to the lacrosse head which will distort the direction of your throw.
• Take one of the shooter strings and pull it out from the first 9 diamond rows that are on the down from the scoop. We do this to make sure that the shooter ends do not hit back on your face when you throw. Put the shooter string in between the sidewall and mesh and see that the 2 sides of the shooter are of the same length.
• Take the end that’s facing opposite to you and take it out towards you. The other end of the shooter must go down from the following diamond. Weave the shooter string across all the diamonds in the row till you go to the next side of the head. Now, tie a tight knot over there.
• Now, take the second shooter string and repeat the same process on the following 9 diamond rows. The U-string shooter will let the player follow through and provide the perfect control and whip. However, you do not need to have a U-string shooter all the time as even the two straights will do a wonderful job. The choice is yours.
• For making the U-string shooter, you have to carve out the shooter from the middle three diamonds. Follow the same procedure that you have done from the straight shooters. The only thing you need to do now is row down diagonally. Once the shooter curve turns into a U-shape, tie the knot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can We Reuse the Lacrosse Mesh?

It is not recommended to use the reused material for stringing the lacrosse head. Use the original materials wherever possible.

However, if you think that old mesh is in a reusable condition, give it a go. Dip the old mesh in the warm water for a few minutes to make it soft for easier handling.

If you want to reuse the bottom strings or shooter strings, clean them properly before using.

My Mesh is Hard to Even After Covering It in Hot Water. What Should I Do?

Generally, the mesh turns softer if you cover it in hot water for a couple of minutes. In case, if your mesh is still harder, you have to use the fabric softener.

Add some fabric softener to the hot water and put the mesh in it for at least an hour. Remember that using a hard mesh will not yield good results.

So you have to wait patiently till your mesh turns softer to be able to string the lacrosse head.

How to Tighten the Whip on a Lacrosse Stick?

You can tighten the whip on the lacrosse stick by adjusting the bottom string. If you are still not satisfied, try tightening the shooter strings.

Start from the top and go all the way to bottom. Shooter strings must be tight at the top and loose at the bottom

Wrapping up…

That’s it! We hope you have enjoyed stringing your first lacrosse head. You can always adjust the shooter strings if you notice that ball is going out too late or too early.

You need to loosen the sting if you want to delay the ball. Stringing the lacrosse head involves lots of skill and patience.

We hope our guide has helped you to easily string your first lacrosse head. That’s it for How To String A Lacrosse Head.