How to String a Lacrosse Head Pocket

Though many places will charge you a fee to string your lacrosse pocket, stringing a lacrosse pocket is an easy task that most lacrosse players do themselves. Stringing your own stick gives you control over the type of pocket you want—whether you prefer a tighter pocket with quicker release, a more flexible pocket that snugly holds the ball for easy cradling or something in between. Learning to string your own lacrosse pocket allows for this kind of flexibility. Although many different ways exist to string a lacrosse pocket, learn the basics of stringing a traditional six- or eight-diamond pocket.

Things You'll Need

• Four leathers
• Two sidewall strings
• One piece of nylon (13 to 15 feet)
• Two or more shooting strings

Instructions

1. Pull tightly on the leathers to stretch them out before weaving. Otherwise, they may stretch more than you’d like once you complete the pocket and break it in. Start from the top (scoop), and move down the stick to the throat (where the stick connects to the head). String with the head upside down, scoop forward and throat down.

2. Knot four leathers to the top of the head and tape them to the pole to keep them taut to prevent twisting. Leathers have a smooth side and a rough side; the smooth side should face the inside of the pocket. One end of each leather has two holes cut into it. Attach this end to the holes in the scoop. Pull the flat end of the leather through the wide hole in the scoop, then loop the longer pointed end of the leather through the top hole in the leather and pull tight. Repeat so that the four leathers attach to the four holes in the scoop.

3. String the sidewalls through the outside of the stick, and loop it back through the string again. Loop them from outside to inside. Go hole by hole down the side of the head. Notice the two holes next to each other at the bottom of the head. Tie off the sidewall in the second to last hole using the initial knot you tied at the top of the head. Then loop the string through the last hole and secure the same way.

4. Keep the leather and sidewalls tight as you weave the nylons between them, tying knots throughout. Start from the throat of the stick on one sidewall, and move across. Loop the nylons across each leather from the outside in. Loop the string over the top of the leather and then underneath and over again. Pull tight. Then loop the nylon back around the sidewall. Continue back and forth up the head. Space out the loops equally so the size of the diamonds are the same. Tie the nylons off at the scoop. Leave a few inches of extra string after the knot. Start at the bottom again and do the same loops, but this time around the leather already partially strung with nylon and the next middle leather. Keep the loops parallel to the ones on the sidewall. To knot nylon to nylon, pull the nylon through the previous nylon-leather loop, then back over itself. This way, you can loosen and move the knot as you break in the pocket.
   - In an eight diamond stick the nylons knot around the leather nine times. This creates a stiffer pocket and a quicker release. You need about 16 feet of nylon for this pocket.
   - In a six diamond stick the nylons knot around the leather seven times. This creates more hold and increased overall flexibility of the pocket. You need about 13 feet of nylon for this pocket.

5. Loop the ends of the leathers through the plastic on the backside of the stick and back around to secure. Use your fist to beat in the pocket to break it in.

References

• e-Lacross Stick Tech