Beginning this year, mesh pockets will be allowed in women’s lacrosse sticks across all age levels. At Ultimate Lacrosse we’ve been experimenting with the new pockets and now offer custom strung women’s lacrosse heads with mesh.
The governing body of lacrosse in America, US Lacrosse approved mesh pockets in an attempt to simplify the stringing rules for women’s heads. The initial pockets with mesh in women’s heads feature a mesh runner cut down from a full piece of men’s mesh. The most basic rules for a women’s pocket will stay the same;
- Shooting strings must be attached directly to the sidewall plastic (this keeps the top of the pocket from flexing too much and creating more speed on shots
- Pocket depth must allow a portion of the ball to be seen above the plastic sidewall
- No holes or gaps in the stringing may exceed 1 ½
This creates amazing new opportunities for women’s stringing and will improve important facets of the game such as hold and release in the pockets. We’ll see more girls shooting underhand and doing more advanced cradling/dodging such as toe-drag style moves and one handed split dodges will increase.
One major benefit that will come out of this is that at the beginner level young players will find it easier to catch, throw and cradle which will likely increase participation across the country. When a beginner is no longer discouraged by the difficulty of learning the basics it can only benefit the growth of the game long term!
If you’re interested in trying out a new mesh pocket in your women’s lacrosse stick please feel free to stop by the store and try out our sample sticks and see how you like it! At Ultimate Lacrosse we offer the best custom stringing services in St Louis and are proud to help you improve your game! Please stay tuned and call us with any questions at 636-686-5124.
