I’ve strung many floating sidewall pockets, but always in a traditional pocket. Never have I tried one with mesh….until now on this week’s edition of #TheGopherProject. The challenge with mesh is that you need at least the top-third of the head anchored down tight to create the channel. Floating sidewall pockets are more forgiving to the ball and allow the pocket to shift from low to high depending on your cradle. Can it be done with mesh? Let’s see….
Here is Connor’s original video that inspired me to start stringing these up. I did quite a few faceoff heads with this method that were a hit.
Floating Sidewall Pocket Materials: #TheGopherProject
- A lacrosse head. For this, I am breaking out the ECD DNA.
- Mesh! It’s just past Memorial Day (as you’re reading this) so ECD Hero 2.0 USA LE is required.
- Sidewall (Gold of course)
- Shooters
Top String: Used my normal top string pattern here. Start on the second hold and double looped the start. Why double loop? It’s simple with some heads having larger sidewall holes on the first 4-5 holes, it keeps the knot tighter in place and less chance to slip through. I loop the diamond to the scoop and run the sidewall under the bridge to the next scoop hole. I feel this pulls the mesh closer to the scoop and keeps the sidewall from fraying as quickly.
Sidewall: Alright, here’s where the fun starts. My goal was to get the top-third section of the head pulled tightly to the sidewall. I did not use SI’s (special interlocks) because I personally do not like what it does to the mesh there. I think it pulls too tight and makes ground balls harder to pull into the head. Anchor knots are my knot of choice. Starting at the third sidewall hole I did a loop start, skip, AK, skip, AK, skip, AK, 1, knot. I then ran the sidewall through four diamonds of mesh and knotted it to the head. One more skip and then an AK and double loop on the small final diamond. It could appear like overkill with the AK/double loop and knot ending but I wanted to make sure the last diamond was pulled as close to the head as possible so I had two anchor points on the head.
Bottom String/Shooters: Used a standard bottom string tie off and one nylon and one shooter set up at the top (fourth and sixth sidewall holes).
Versions: So, I strung this several ways before settling on this version. This is the one that I found that had the best features. First, it passed and shot well. Second, it received the ball well. Finally, it had the hold and pocket shift I was exactly looking for. With two hands, the ball sits right under the shooters (which I prefer) and with one hand, it rests towards the bottom throat.
When I looped five or more diamonds, the pocket shift was too severe and the release was funky.
If you string this up, tag me and let me know what you think or what you change with the floating sidewall.
Thanks for reading! Next week we dip our toe back into the dye pool. Remember to tag all string ups with the #TheGopherProject to be included in future articles.
