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Traditional Thursday: Learn To String!

Do you spend Thursdays looking through photos of traditional pockets that OTHER people have strung? Do you wish that you too could string a mean pocket using only leather and cross lace?

Today is YOUR day to learn how to string traditional for yourself!

Here are some basics pieces of advice when it comes to learning traditional:

The first traditional pocket you string will be AWFUL. My first trad was awful, so was Greg Rose’s, so was Billy Nguyen’s, so was Contest Colin’s, and so was everyone’s. NO ONE gets it 100% right the first time. NO ONE. Ok, maybe there is one person out there who did a good pocket on their first go, but it is VERY rare, and that person just might be a Martian. It took me at least 5 attempts to get the basics down, and I still get better every time I string a new stick, even though I’ve strung hundreds at this point. It helps to have a good reference point, whether that is a head in front of you to copy, or a video tutorial.

If you play with traditional, you should at least be able to fix traditional. Ok, so you don’t know how to string a pocket from start to finish… If you’re going to use a traditional stick, you really should be able to fix it. This means you know how to adjust leathers, sidewalls, and shooting strings, and can deal with bad weather. Our tutorial below covers a lot of that! Plus, learning traditional fixes is a good way to ease into learning the whole process.

Prepare to get addicted. I literally can’t stop stringing traditional sticks. I use the process to calm myself down when I get overwhelmed. I string sticks for myself, for friends, for referees who request them, for kids I coach. It’s therapy, and I love finishing a perfect pocket and knowing that I DID THAT. It’s a physical reminder that I live in this world, and am making a mark.

Perhaps the above seems over the top, but I’m willing to bet that if you talk to anyone who strings a lot of traditional sticks, they will tell you the exact same thing. I’m also willing to be that the percentage of people who string mesh who feel the same way is MUCH lower. There is just something special about traditional!

So now that you know a bit more about the beginnings of learning traditional, it’s time to get to work, and start learning. See out traditional tutorial below, and once you’re done watching that, check out Contest Colin’s tutorial for another set of perspective on how to work the magic:

Here is the link to Colin’s tutorial on The Lacrosse Network.