How to String a Lacrosse Head

With so many different knots, ties, holes and loops, even some veteran lacrosse players are too intimidated to restring their own lacrosse heads. But despite the seemingly complicated process, it’s actually not as hard as you might think to string it yourself. All it takes are a few easy steps, the right tools and little practice. Before you know it, you’ll be back on the field with a freshly strung lacrosse stick adjusted perfectly to your own preference. Keep in mind that there are several different stringing styles out there, all with their own pros and cons. We’re teaching you one of the more basic stringing techniques. Once you get it down, try experimenting with different methods until you find the right one for you.

A Little Lacrosse Lingo

If you’re just learning your way around a lacrosse stick, let’s go over a few basic parts that you’ll need to know before restringing. Head: Attached to the top of the lacrosse stick, this is a typically a plastic, molded piece that the strings lace into. Scoop: The flattened area at the top of the lacrosse head. This is where players can scoop up the ball, and where part of the mesh is attached. Top Head: The top section of the lacrosse head, where the scoop is located Sidewalls: The sides of the lacrosse head with several holes for the strings Mesh: This is the netted material that’s attached to the inside of the lacrosse head Pocket: This is sagging area inside of the mesh where the lacrosse ball will be caught Shooter Strings: These are the strings used to attach the mesh to the head. They also help with ball control. Materials 2 Shooter Strings at 30”–33” each 1 “Nine-Diamond Row” Mesh Unstrung Lacrosse Head

Stringing Your Lacrosse Top Head

There are two important parts of stringing a lacrosse head—the top head and the sidewalls. First, we’ll go through tying a lacrosse top head using the 9-Diamond Topstring method.

1. Once you’ve acquired all of the correct materials, take your mesh and fold down the top row, called the “nine diamond row,” over the row just underneath it.
2. Take one shooter string and tie a large knot at one end. With the head facing away from you, pull the unknotted end through the hole on the far-right bottom of the lacrosse head while also pulling it through the farthest right mesh hole. Pull the shooter string all the way through until the knot catches the hole.
3. Next, go back through the same head hole, but in the opposite direction. As you do this, ensure you’re leaving enough slack so the shooter string creates a loop.
4. Pull the string through that loop, and then back into the top head hole. Pull the string tightly so the mesh is snug with the head.
5. Next, pull the end of the string through the first hole at the top of the head and then pull through the next mesh hole. As you pull the string back around through the mesh, create a loop with your fingers. Pull the string through the loop as you tighten the string.
6. Skip the third mesh and top head hole
7. Repeat Step 4
8. Skip the middle mesh hole, but ensure it’s lined up to the center of the head
9. Repeat Step 4, but skip stringing the sixth and eighth mesh hole.
10. Pull the string tightly out of the top head hole that lines up with the knot hole on the opposite side. Loop it around like you did on the opposite side and tie it off.

Stringing The Sidewalls

Now that the top head is ready-to-go, it’s time to lace up the sidewalls.

1. Take your second shooter string, tie a knot at one end, and pull it all the way through the same head hole as one of your top string knots.
2. Skipping the first hole, pull the string through the outside of the sidewall. This allows the string to start wrapping around the sidewall itself.
3. Find the top mesh hole that makes up a 10-diamond row. Pull the string from the opposite side of the mesh and pull it towards you.
4. This then creates a small string loop between the mesh and the sidewall. Pull the end of the string through the newly created loop and pull it tight.
5. Repeat this process as necessary, using only the 10-diamond holes, until you’re parallel to the top of the pocket. NOTE: Many people skip sidewall holes depending on how loose or tight they prefer their mesh, or how the mesh lines up with the holes. However, you should never skip a mesh hole.
6. To best catch lacrosse balls at high speeds, the mesh that creates the pocket should have less tension than other areas. To create less tension, the technique differs while stringing along the pocket and goes as follows:Pull the string through the mesh first and then pull it through the sidewall. Once it’s tight, go back to the “old” method by pulling the string through the sidewall first and then the mesh before pulling through the loop and pulling tight.
7. Repeat Step Six until you’ve reached the bottom of the pocket.
8. At this point, you’ve likely reached the bottom of the head. If not, use either method depending on your own tightness preference until you only have one or two sidewall holes left.
9. To finish the sidewall, pull the string through the back of the mesh, then push it from the inside out through the sidewall hole. Pull the string tight, tie it off and cut any remaining string.
10. Repeat the process on the other side. NOTE: Ensure you’re making the exact same knots, loops, etc. in the exact same place on the opposite side. Otherwise, the mesh will be crooked.

And there you have it! It sounds like a lot of complicated steps, but after practicing them a few times, it’ll be second nature. Soon, you’ll be playing—and stringing—like a pro.