Sidewalls: interlocking, floating, and/or both?

Good morning laxers and lax lovers.  Hope you're 'snowed in' and enjoying some muesli and a cappuccino.  For this post, let's get a bit intricate.  I want to talk about the difference between interlocking and floating sidewalls.

Interlocking:



For an interlocking sidewall, the sidewall string holds the mesh tight to the side of the head -- see above.  I've found that this type of sidewall is great for the top (meaning the first few sidewall holes from the top) of your head as well as the best for placing a pocket exactly where you want it (some players like the ball to sit in one and only one spot in their pocket).

Floating:



Floating sidewalls do not attach the mesh directly to the side of the head, creating a 'floating' pocket.  Floating sidewalls are great if you like your pocket to sway a little bit as you play: for example, when you carry one-handed, you like the ball the sit lower in the pocket.  But, when you shoot, you like the ball to sit under the shooting stringing.

The "Arnold Palmer" or "Half and Half" style:



The "Half and Half" method is one I've been using for a few years now and I've been happy with the results.  The idea is that the interlocking sidewalls hold my shooting/passing release area (top of mesh/shooting strings) in place while the floating sidewalls allow my ball control area (middle/lower part of mesh) to move up and down.  This allows me to carry one handed then move quickly to a shooting/passing position and have the ball sit under the shooters and higher in the pocket.

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Improve your game one day at a time, isn't it about time you learned to string your own wand?

Greg Rose

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