Stringing a lacrosse head can be intimidating for new players, but like anything, practice makes perfect. There are so many ways you can string a lacrosse head, and we’re here to walk you through some of the basics of how to do it. Follow these tips for stringing a lacrosse head, and you’ll become a stick doctor for your team in no time.
Gather the Right Supplies
Before we dive into the tips for stringing a lacrosse head, you first need to make sure you have the right supplies to do so! To string a head, you need the following:
- Unstrung head
- Sidewall strings
- Shooting laces
- Mesh
- Lighter
- Scissors
Mesh and strings also come in a variety of different styles and colors. You can match your mesh to your individual play style and your team’s colors or keep it neutral. At Lacrosse Fanatic, we offer a variety of stringing kits across all of the top brands so that you always know that you have the best products for your season.
Mesh
The mesh that you use matters and directly impacts your game. You want to make sure the mesh is water resistant because some of the cheaper mesh materials out there aren’t and will stretch or “bag out” when they get wet. There are also two main varieties of mesh: semi-soft and semi-hard. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t know what you want or don’t have a preference, then use semi-soft mesh. Its softness greatly reduces the break-in time.
When stringing, you’ll first want to make sure you identify the front, back, top, and bottom of the mesh. Look for these indicators to orient yourself:
- Top: Find the nine diamonds across the top.
- Bottom: The bottom will have ten diamonds.
Since the mesh can feel rough and compact, you’ll want to stretch it out before you start stringing it to your head. Whichever side is harsher is the side that you’ll want to face toward the front of the stick where the ball sits. As you stretch out the mesh, fold the nine-diamond row back to the row underneath it. When you do this, make sure the diamonds of the two rows match up.
Top String
After getting your mesh ready, you’ll then want to grab your top string and tie a knot two inches from the outside. Pull the top string through the first hole at the top of your lacrosse head and put it through the first diamond of your mesh. Continue to repeat this step two more times. Keep the string loose, then tighten it by pulling on the string you went around the second time. Continue going from left to right with knots holding the mesh together atop the head.
PRO TIP: Make sure the top string is tight. As the mesh breaks in more, this will ensure that it doesn’t become too loose.
Sidewall
Once you finish taking care of the top string, move on to the sidewall. The way you string your sidewall will also determine the type of pocket your head can have. On the sidewall, the first two diamonds should be tight and create the channel. As you move towards the bottom, you’ll want to make the pocket looser by stringing the diamonds close together. After stringing both sides of the sidewall, put in the bottom string—it will dictate the pocket depth.
Shooting Strings
The last part of stringing a lacrosse head is taking care of the shooting strings, which should be no lower than four inches from the top of the head. Typically, two shooting strings are enough, and you’ll want them to go across the top of the head parallel to each other. The top shooting string should be tighter than the one below it.
PRO TIP: When the shooting strings are tight, this will create “whip.” Whip allows for extra hold, and only advanced players should use it. If you notice a player keeps throwing into the ground, this is most likely because the shooting strings are too tight. Loosening these should alleviate the problem.
If you’re now overwhelmed after reading this, don’t worry. Lacrosse Fanatic also offers custom pre-strung lacrosse heads, and we can custom string your field head for only $20!