Stringing Pattern Theory

We talked performance mesh and their differences in a previous post, but what good is mesh if you can't string up a stick that works best for you? Stringing is a tedious task that takes a lot of practice to get good at, but once you do, it becomes a breeze. So the first thing you want to do is prepare the mesh. Most, if not all mesh comes packaged and not stretched out. Find the 9 diamond row on top and start stretching out the mesh. Don't be afraid to really pull it apart it wont break. Then fold that top 9 diamond row over the second 9 diamond row. This creates an overlap so the topstring can lock down the mesh to the head. For instructions on how to actually do a topstring, ECD has great tutorials on their youtube channel. step1-mesh-fold1 So now that your topstring is installed, its time to move to the most daunting part of the stick, the sidewalls. Every knot does a different thing and there are a lot of knots that can be used. The most popular being the interlock, the knot, and the special interlock. These 3 knots are used to pull the mesh down tightly creating the channel. Depending on the head, you should also skip sidewall holes (1 or 2 max) to ensure that there will be a channel in your stick. sidewall-stringing-pattern Pocket placement all depends on where you start bunching up your mesh. Use knots such as a 1 or a 2 to start creating your pocket. This allows for a more shift pocket because no piece of mesh is locked down to the sidewall. Depending on how much whip and hold you like, you should only interlock 2 or 3 times so the channel is not so tight that it catches the ball and causes it to throw down. Whip relies on pocket placement, channel width, and shooter setup. I like to think of whip as the ramp the ball will take to get out of the head. The steeper the more whip. A low pocket tends to have less whip than a high pocket. Whip is all preference and I personally find that a lot of it is annoying. I like to get a little lazy on my passes sometimes and need to get rid of the ball quickly so i find that if I don't get my hands back as far as possible, the ball comes out late and low. Lastly the shooting strings. These matter. Now with all the rule changes they are starting to matter less, but just make sure if you're using the 2 across setup, your stick has a nice tight channel. People think because there is no U holding the ball in place the straights are bad, but if the channel is tight enough, it will hold the ball right where it needs to be. 2 Across and a nylon is my favorite setup because it lets the ball out nice and smooth in the beginning then snaps off the nylon a little which I like the feeling of. Bu2_WeACIAEN2wA

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