Want to string a transferable traditional pocket in your lacrosse stick? Here are some tips and tricks you can use to make that happen.
A transferable traditional pocket, when done right, is excellent for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s a good traditional pocket. 2) You can add just a little more color to your stick. And most importantly, 3) If your head breaks, you can easily move this pocket to a new one, and skip the whole break in process and get right back to business.
That last one is obviously the key that the Gatekeeper is looking for here. It’s a transferable traditional after all.
Stringing A Transferable Traditional
Apart from the actual traditional stringing work, there are two important elements of a transferable traditional. They are a doubled up sidewall, and a removable top string. I will start with the sidewall.
I used a Nike Elite head, an LAS Traditional Kit for leathers and crosslace, and StringKing shooters and sidewall.
Make sure you have a LONG piece of sidewall for this pocket. Check this baby out, it should be at least this long:
30″ or longer. Go. Now put the sidewall in from the outside of the sidewall up top and run it down the inside of the plastic coming out of the plastic from the inside. Tie a knot in it there.
Now leave the sidewall. We’re moving on to the transferable traditional top string.
Take a piece of sidewall, again, 30″ is good, and put it through the top sidewall hole, then run it through the front of the scoop where you will put the first leather.
I go through the front of the scoop first because this pushes the portion of the top string where the leather rests forward. Sitting forward reduces potential “lip” problems and whip.
Fold your leathers over.
Slide the leather over the top string.
Go through the back of the scoop and through the loop.
Pull it tight.
Front view.
Now repeat, repeat, repeat, and tie it off on the other sidewall.
Now start stringing your traditional however you normally would, using the “floating sidewall” instead of a knotted sidewall. For this one, I threw in a Traditree.
You might want to consider tying an extra knot up top on your leathers, as this keeps the pocket in place just a bit more. Here’s a very simple knot to try. There are plenty of other variations out there.
Traditional loop and through the top the leather. Then go through the traditional loop on the other side.
Pull it tight.
Ok, now you’re ready to tie that sidewall down. I leave the knot in, but you can take it out if you want. Go back up the sidewall and enter the sidewall from the outside and then come back and go through the loop. This keeps the “floating sidewall” portion near the pocket, and the knotted part lower on the rail.
At the end, enter the sidewall from the outside of the head (keeping the sidewall low on the rail) go around the floating sidewall and exit through the same hole.
Pull it tight, tie it off. Now go back to string the rest of your traditional pocket.
So now you have finished up the pocket and you’ve done the same thing to other sidewall. Good stuff.
It’s time for shooting strings.
I like to put the top shooter through the plastic, and then the other three only attach to the sidewall. It makes the transfer process easy (I only have to pull out one shooter) and it suits my preference. I would string your shooters how you like them though.
I like sidewall for a top shooter. It’s stiff and gives good pop when shooting. I go over under on every piece of crosslace and leather. Then I do the opposite coming back and wrapping each time.
For the softer hockey lace style shooters I go under over but do it every second piece. Leather and crosslace, under, leather and crosslace over, etc.
Since I only use the sidewall to anchor the shooters, I make sure to only connect the shooter to the floating portion.
And that’s about it. Go play some wall ball.