Help! Long-haired pitcher son can't keep hat on

Get a smaller hat or roll a paper towel and stick it inside the band. I can’t imagine that coaches aren’t annoyed by that.  Once or twice, but every pitch? Got to fix that.

One day my son got in the car with three sweat bands on both arms. I asked him why and he said "swag dad." I told him that if I was a college coach, I would get the impression that he thought he was the sh!t. I said that there was no way I would recruit him and that he was putting a target on his back that said, "I'm something special." I told him that if he did perform well that day than maybe some coaches would look past it. Then I asked him if 1 coach that day thought the way I did, why would you want to put yourself in a negative situation. By the time we got to the field all sweat bands were off.

I know if it's annoying to me, it's got to annoy them.  I should also mention that he often gets a new hat at the event he's playing in, such as when he's guest-pitching or showcasing.  We don't get a lot of chances to test it out.  The same size that always fit him before apparently doesn't work with longer hair.  So I can always have him get a smaller size, if they have it, even if he complains that it's tight.

Paper towel may work.  Maybe I'll experiment with that.  I'd probably also need something to secure it in place (stapler, adhesive tape), so he doesn't end up with the equivalent of toilet paper on the shoe.

I don't think swag is the issue.  He doesn't look like Jacob DeGrom or anything.  It's just that he's shaggy enough that the cap doesn't stay like it did when he had a cleaner look.  He's a cool kid and a dugout leader, which is probably why coaches haven't complained so far about the hat.

He's not the only kid with the problem either.  Shaggy seems to be in.  I don't care if the other kids' hats are flying off, though.  I just don't want my kid to be the one who distracts.

My son had the same problem a few years ago.  Didn’t fall off every time, but he had to adjust it after every pitch.  Once I saw him on a recruiting video, I asked “what’s more important, baseball or your fkn hair?”  

He went to the barber shortly there after.

Tell him not to wash his hair on game days.  (Only half kidding. Clean hair is more slippery than dirty.)

My son had cool nailed with a perfect 10. As a goalie leading his soccer team on to the field he wore sunglasses. In baseball he looked impeccable when he arrived at the field. He did one thing through age fifteen in travel ball and in high school I didn’t care for but tolerated. I told him it wouldn’t fly in 17u recruiting when he turned sixteen. He wore gloves in his back pockets to wave “bye” as he rounded the bases a la Mel Hall.

In LL all stars he hit a walk off homer. As he approached the plate and his teammates he gave his best Harry Callas “That ball is outta here!” The coach in the opposing dugout went nuts yelling at my son. It was completely spontaneous. It was his first over the fence homer. Through all stars “That ball is outta here!” became a team battle cry. 

Personally, I love that "outta here" behavior.  It's not hot dogging, it's just having fun with the game.  That kind of fun competitiveness is what makes everybody better.  Best to do it at the end of the game like that, though, because otherwise it can inspire in-game greatness in your opponent.

Rubber cement on inside rim...

Aqua net hair spray...turns to "glue" in high humidity...

a Wahl...

Seriously?????   Is he a ballplayer or "cool dude"? 

My son went through this......one" too close for comfort" come backer cured it.

I think he's shooting for "cool dude ballplayer," along the lines of Clayton Kershaw or Bryce Harper.  Come to think of it, the person I really need to answer this question is Clayton Kershaw.  Dude's got a straight-up coiffure, and I don't think I've ever seen his hat come off.

Yeah, my wife brought up the possibility of the "back-at-ya."  Hopefully he won't need that to fix it. I told him he needs to figure out something that works before this weekend.  Anyway, I knew there had to be other parents out there who experienced this, just because I see too many kids doing the same thing.

Clayton's performance the last 13 yrs had/has nothing to do with "hair" or trying toact "cool". 

He's more than special!  Signed for $2.3M in 2006... https://bleacherreport.com/art...-dodger-10-years-ago

If your son wants to emulate, study Clayton's mechanics, learn to think like a pitcher, a leader...study Clayton's character & work ethic. 

Long hair is a part of modern baseball culture. If a coach had a problem with hair I think it's a problem with the coach not the kid....

2019OF posted:

Long hair is a part of modern baseball culture. If a coach had a problem with hair I think it's a problem with the coach not the kid....

But the coach pursues the player not the other way around. 

No offense meant at all.... And, I'm not responsible for your interpretation of tone...My 1st comment suggested rubber cement or Aqua net!

Just saying there are more important things than looks, especially for athletes...So...Since the hair is a distraction,  it's might be time to talk turkey with him...What does he want folks/college recruiters to notice about him?...His K's & ERA??? Working his way out of a jam??...knowing how to read a batter??...becoming the team "ace"???... or having to put a hat back on?  

I agree with 2019OF about long hair being a part of modern baseball culture.  (If he really is a 2019 OF, then he should know.)   And my experience is that how you play matters a 1000x more than your hairstyle.  My word, how else did all these Bohemians break into the MLB??

Again, my preference is for tidy, old-school hair.  I wish every team looked like the Yankees, and every locker room smelled like Burma-Shave before game time.  That's not today's reality, though.

I don't like my kid having a mop-head.  And I tell him.  But it's his thing.  I don't let my kid curse, or treat women with disrespect, or vape, or do drugs, or accept mediocre grades, or not help when it's time to clean the kitchen.  But his hair?  Who cares?  Let him be his own guy.  

I just don't want his hat falling off when he pitches.  I draw the line on that.

Did your sons cap stay on when he had short hair? 

Yes, it did!  That's what's so screwy.  The cap size that normally fit him comfortably comes off since the hair grew this summer.  He says a smaller size is "definitely" uncomfortable.

I wish I could help but I  do not have a solution. I would like to know if you find one!!!!!!!!

Fair enough, Baseballmom.  I deleted my reply.  If I misinterpreted, it wouldn't be my first time.  Benefit of the doubt . . .