Baseball Tryouts by Shant

---

My name is Dave and I operate a one man barbershop in a town with a population slightly under 4000. There is only one other barbershop in town. The barber’s name is Ken, and he also runs a one man shop. If a guy didn’t want to have either Ken or me cut his hair, he had to drive 25 miles to the nearest town.

Ken and I were both 28 and were good friends. We saw each other around every four weeks because we cut each other’s hair.

Being the only two barbers in town, there was more than enough business for the two of us, and therefore, we did not feel competitive with each other. We enjoyed getting together and telling each other about some great haircut we had just given some guy that had great hair.

Both of us were always booked solid. Guys made their appointment online and we both allotted thirty minutes for each haircut.

Cutting 16 haircuts a day @ $20/haircut and then add in tips, resulted in us making about $350 a day. Multiply that by five days a week, and we were both making good money, and best of all, didn’t have any college debt.

Ken and I talked many times about adding an additional barber in our shop, but we didn’t see the point in taking on any more business, and we liked working alone. There really was no reason to expand our business because neither of us could handle any more customers.

Holidays are usually the times when guys would come in to get cleaned up before family gatherings. We didn’t have more haircuts to do, but we did get to cut some guys hair down shorter because they wanted to please their families.

For Ken and me, however, our favorite time of year was the beginning of spring, when tryouts for baseball were coming up. With only one high school in the town, it was competitive to make the team. A lot of good players did not make the team because the roster was not that large and there were so many guys trying out.

Last season, the team won the state championship and many of the same guys would be returning. Expectations were high to be state champions again. Only a handful of returning players were absolutely positive they would make the team. For the majority of guys, no one was guaranteed they would automatically be chosen.

Coach Allen was around 32. He had been a marine and still wore the short military flattop he had worn when he was in the service. He was a great guy and was really popular at the school.

Guys knew that if they wanted to make the team that there was one rule Coach Allen insisted upon. Long hair was not allowed and he enforced that rule. No hair was allowed to be sticking out from under the baseball cap.

If a guy that had long hair tried out for the team and was a really good player, Coach would tell him that he could be on the team, but that he would have to get rid of his long hair if he wanted to play.

Many times, guys would come in together for their "baseball" haircut. Some of them really weren’t looking forward to getting their hair cut, and I think it made it seem a lot less unpleasant having friends there for moral support, and it didn’t seem as traumatic if they came in together for their haircuts.

It was getting close to tryouts and Ken and I looked forward to giving some really awesome haircuts and then sharing stories. I looked at my appointment schedule and noticed that three guys, Brian, Tyler and Mark, had made the last three appointments of the day. They were best friends and I had been cutting their hair since they were just kids.

At about this time of year, they would be coming in with about four inches of hair on top, with the sides just a little shorter. They all had different color hair, but they all had really thick hair with great body. They were really good looking guys and I always looked forward to cutting their hair.

As it was getting near time for the first guy to come in, I heard the door to the shop open and in walked all three of them. They often came in together when they got their hair cut.

"Time for the big cut?" I said with a huge smile on my face. I knew they were coming in to get their hair cut before tryouts and I enjoyed getting to cut their hair shorter than they usually wore it.

"Yeah, you know how it is with Coach Allen and his rule," Brian said. "We decided that we really want to blow him away this year when he first sees us at tryouts."

"We’re pretty sure since we have played the past two seasons that Coach will probably choose us to play again this year, but we’re not taking any chances. We figured if we got really short haircuts, he’d realize how serious we are about getting to play our final year."

"We’ve decided to have some fun and do something really wild this time when you cut our hair. We want you to give us all the shortest haircut you have ever given us. We don’t want shaved heads, or high and tights, or anything extreme like that, but we want to get different looking, really short haircuts."

I definitely liked the sound of this. They all really had great hair. I could hardly wait to hear how they wanted me to cut it.

"And this is where the fun part comes in," Tyler said. "We want you to decide what kind of haircut we each will get, and we don’t want you to tell us what haircut it is going to be. We want you to just go ahead and cut our hair however you’d like. We think this is really going to be awesome!"

"Wow! Are you serious? That would sure be a wild time. I’ll have a blast giving you three very different short haircuts. This is really going to be a lot of fun."

"How about after I cape you up and comb your hair so that it looks perfect, you take a before picture and then an after picture once I finish the cut? You can use my phone and take the same pictures for me. I’d really like it if you would also take pictures while I’m cutting your hair. I’d like to show them to Ken. He’s going to be so envious that I got to do this. I know that he’d really enjoy seeing them."

"Seeing that you guys are the last three appointments of the day, I’m going to close the shop and we can take all the time we want to do this. How about if I take a shot of the three of you all together before we start?"

Tyler was the first guy to sit in the chair. Tyler’s hair was sandy blonde with great natural highlights. His hair had a slight wave to it the longer he let it grow. He parted his hair down the middle and then combed the sides down and back, letting the waves cascade down to where they covered about half his ears.

The back was longer than the other two guys and his hair curled up slightly about an inch below his collar. It really was beautiful. Any guy would be thrilled to have such a great head of hair.

While I was caping him up, he said, "Before we came to your shop we went over to my house and smoked a little weed. We figured that getting high would help us relax and help keep our courage up so we would actually go ahead and really do this. We’re all feeling pretty mellow. It’s going to be unreal sitting here being so relaxed and watch you cut almost all our hair off."

I was definitely going to take my time and get the most enjoyment out of this that I could. Even though they were all getting short haircuts, I was going to use my scissors and clippers to make the haircut last as long as possible.

I spent quite a bit of time just brushing his hair and enjoying getting my hands in his great mane. Once I had his hair perfectly in place, the guys took pictures for the before shot.

I had left Tyler’s hair parted down the middle with his lovely waves all perfectly in place. I took my comb and lifted up his forelock on the left side of his part and combed it straight up. "Are you ready for this? Once I do the first cut there will be no turning back," I said.

"Go ahead and do it. To be honest, it scares the hell out of me, but it’s going to be amazing to watch."

"Okay, here we go," I said. The hair that I had combed straight up was over four inches long. I took my scissors and sliced off almost three inches of his beautiful hair, making certain it fell into his lap.

"Oh man, I can’t believe that I am really doing this!" Tyler said.

I then lifted up his forelock on the right side of his part and cut the same amount as I had on the other side. Rather than cut all one side and then the other, I switched back and forth as I cut off each lock of his hair, working my way to the back. His hair was so awesome.

The guys were having a great time and were taking loads of pictures. "Man, Tyler, look at all that hair you are so in love with coming off. You are going to look so different!" Mark said.

Once I had finished using the scissors his hair was about one and a half inches long all over. This was only the beginning of the haircut. I then took my clippers and put the #2 guard on them. I placed my hand on the top of his head, and pushed it down with his chin almost touching his chest. I started at the back of his head and ran the clippers almost all the way up to the crown.

Tyler was getting my favorite haircut to do. With his thick, blonde hair I was going to give him a square boxy flattop.

I left the sides and back just long enough to square up. I then sprayed the remaining hair on top and then blowdryed it all up and back, making it stand up as tall as I could get it.

I then took my wide tooth comb and lifted his forelock straight up and ran my clippers over the top of the comb. I was going to leave him with a little more than an inch of hair in front and cut it shorter as I worked my way to the back.

The top was standing up so great and it was as flat as a board. It was going to look awesome. I then finished the haircut by squaring up the back and sides so that they blended perfectly into the top.

I took the cape off and the guys started taking a load of pictures from every angle. "So what do you think of the haircut?" I asked Tyler.

"I can’t believe how different I look, but I really like it. My mother is going to have a fit!"

Brian next took his place in the chair. His hair was a deep shade of brown. He parted it on the left and combed it to the side, combing it up and back. His hair stood up really well.

The sides were about three inches long and he swept them back, just above his ears. Because he had such great body, the sides looked really full. He really had a great head of hair.

He recently had blonde highlights added to his hair. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but personally, I think that anything that looks fake detracts from how great a guy’s hair actually looked. It was just too much of a pretty boy look. I couldn’t wait to cut all those blonde strands off and see them fall into his lap.

I started out just like I did with Tyler. I brushed all his hair perfectly into place and the guys took his "before" picture. Once the photos were taken, I started with my scissors and cut off two of the three inches on the sides and back. His hair on top was about four inches long and I lifted up his forelock and sliced off two inches and did the same all the way to the back.

Lift and cut, lift and cut. Because his hair was so thick and full it was fantastic combing a lock and slicing it off. I loved seeing his fake blonde highlights falling to the cape. When I had finished using my scissors, Brian basically had the same hair style that he had when he came in, only it was now a much shorter version. It actually looked really great.

I then took some time and just enjoyed brushing his hair. I could tell that Brian was really wondering what I was going to do to his hair next. After seeing the haircut Tyler had just been given, he knew there was no way he would be getting out of the chair any time soon.

I decided to put the #4 guard on my clippers. I was going to give him a buzzcut and let him see all his hair falling off.

"Okay, guys, get your cameras ready for the next part of this haircut. It will be awesome seeing the clippers removing all his pretty hair."

Both Mark and Tyler stood on each side of him and couldn’t wait to see what I was going to do. I turned the clippers on and placed them at the center of his forehead. "Get ready, Brian. I’m sure you’ve never had your hair cut like this before!" I said with a big smile.

I then took the clippers and ran them from the front of his hair, all the way to the back. I would then buzz another path of hair off the left and then one off the right, until I had completely mowed down all his hair on top. It was now just about half an inch long.

I then went to work on the sides, leaving the #4 guard on and started at his sideburn and ran them up to the top. After I had finished buzzing his entire head with the #4 clippers, I replaced the guard and put the #2 guard on them.

"I think my hair is already short enough," Brian said.

"Oh, no!" his buddies said. "We all said we were going to do this and there’s no changing your mind now. Go for it Dave and cut his hair shorter!"

I ran the clippers up to about the top of his ears and then blended the sides and back into the top. Brian ended up with about a quarter inch of hair on the sides and a half inch on top. All he would have to do after getting out of the shower was just towel dry his hair and then run his hands from the back to the front.

"So, buddy," I said. "What do you think of your new look?"

"I can’t believe my hair is so short, but, hey, I’ll live, and I can’t wait to see the look on Coach Allen’s face when he sees me," Brian said.

I uncaped Brian and the guys took several pictures of him.

It was then Mark’s turn to sit down in the chair. I was glad that he was the last haircut, because even though they all had great hair, I thought Mark had the best hair of the three of them and I was looking forward to cutting his hair the most of all.

His hair was coal black, tapered along the sides and back with it being about half an inch long around his ears. About half way up, his hair was over two inches long. He combed the sides all up and back and blended it in with the top. His hair on top was about four inches long and he brushed it all straight back with no part at all. He then took his fingers and ran them through the top of his hair, letting his locks fall into place.

I would have loved to give him a long, square, boxy flattop just like I had Tyler, but they said they all wanted different looking short haircuts. I thought that nothing looked sharper than thick, coal black hair cut into a flattop and Mark had one of the best head’s of hair that I had ever cut.

Like the other two guys, I caped him up and brushed all his beautiful hair perfectly into place and the guys took pictures.

I once again started with the scissors and cut off about an inch of his hair from all over. It was wonderful getting to run my hands through his hair and then take the scissors and slice off each individual lock.

Mark was in for a big surprise. I decided that I was going to cut his hair just like Coach Allen’s. I figured when he started to grow it out again, I would be able to get him to let me give him a longer flattop because he had commented on how great he thought Tyler’s hair looked after I finished cutting it.

After I finished taking an inch of his hair down, I then took the clippers and started with the #2 guard. I started at his left sideburn and ran the clippers almost all the way up the sides and back of his head. Mounds of awesome black hair was falling everywhere.

I then replaced the #2 guard with the #1 and ran them up about half way. There was no skin showing due to his hair being so black, but it was close.

I then brushed the top again, all up and back. I took my wide tooth comb and lifted up his wonderful forelock and took off a good three inches. His hair was now a little under an inch in the front. I worked my way back to the crown and cut it a little shorter as I worked my way back.

I then brushed his sides straight up and squared them into the top. He looked like he had the exact same haircut that Coach Allen first got when he became a marine. If I had cut Tyler’s hair like this, because his hair was so blonde, he would look practically bald. With Mark’s hair being so black, you could see the sharp military flattop that he now had.

"So, do you think Coach Allen will realize that you both have the exact same haircut?" I said. "I cut his hair for him and I’m positive that your hair looks just like his does."

"I’ve thought about getting a flattop, but never have had the nerve," Mark said. "When I start growing it out, do you think you could cut it like you did Tyler’s? I really like how his hair looks."

"Definitely. That’s actually the haircut I wanted to give you, but Tyler got it first. In just a little over a month I’ll be able to cut it to look just like Tyler’s."

When I finished Mark’s haircut and took the cape off, I asked them, "Well, what do you guys think? I hope you aren’t regretting it. You all look so different now, but I think you really look sharp."

"Coach Allen is definitely going to be blown away when he sees you. How about letting me now take a picture of the three of you standing side by side, like the first picture?"

"Sure," Tyler said. "It’ll be great to have both pictures to remember what a wild time we had at your barbershop."

After I had taken the picture, Brian said to me, "There’s one more thing we’d like to do to make this an even greater time, that’s if you’re willing to go along with it."

"Over the years we’ve each trimmed each other’s hair when it isn’t quite yet time to get a haircut. When we trim each other’s hair, we’ve often talked about how much we’d like to sit you down in your barber chair and comb and brush your hair."

"We’ve never had the nerve to bring this up, but we figured that if we were ever going to get up our nerve and ask you, that there couldn’t be a more perfect time to do it."

"We’d just enjoy getting our hands in your mane and see how we could get it to look. We all like great hair just as much as you do. We’ve always admired how awesome your hair always looks. Would that be too weird for you?"

"Sure, I’d be fine with that," I said. "I think it’s the least I can do after just having the greatest hair cutting time I’ve ever had. Ken is the only guy that has combed my hair in about four years. It would be fun letting you brush and comb my hair and see how you could get it to look."

I was really proud of my hair. Like all three of these guys, my hair was really thick and had great body. I knew that I was lucky to have it.

The thing I loved most about my hair was that it was coal black, just like Mark’s. We actually wore our hair just about the same, only I had my hair tapered shorter up the sides and back to about three fingers above the top of my ears.

The remaining hair on the sides was a little more than two inches long and the top was almost five inches. My hair had just as much body as Mark’s did. I used a styling product which made my hair stand up and look really full, but what I liked most was that the product made my hair really shine.

I brushed the sides up and back and combed the entire top straight back so that it stood up high and blended the sides into it. I then slightly brushed the top to the right and did not have a part at all. It really looked full and I received a lot of compliments from people.

"Okay, Sir. Sit yourself down in that chair and let us show you how different we are going to make your hair look," Brian said. I sat down in the chair and Brian caped me up. I was actually looking forward to this. Each of the guys then basically combed my hair the way they had worn theirs. Tyler parted my hair down the middle. Brian parted my hair on the left and brushed it all swept back.

When it was Mark’s turn to comb my hair, he said, "Do you have any of that product that you use around?"

"Sure, it’s right there on the counter," I said.

"If it’s okay with you, I’d like to slightly wet your hair and add some of it to your hair. I want to see how high I can get it to stand up, and I’d really like to see it shine even more."

"Go for it," I said. It was easy to see how much Mark was enjoying himself.

Mark then wet my hair and added the hair product and brushed my hair on top and on the sides straight back. Once he did that, he then parted my hair on the right and then swept the sides all back and then went to work making the top stand up as high as it could.

My hair was standing up at least three inches in the front and I loved how it shined. I thought it really looked great.

I was really enjoying the fun time we were having. I loved it that these guys actually said they had always admired my hair and I was glad they were having such a great time getting to comb it.

When they finished combing my hair, on the spur of the moment, I was so pumped up that I decided to let them have even more fun.

"You guys say that you trim each other’s hair every now and then between haircuts. You obviously do a good job, because I’ve never seen you come in with your hair ever looking uneven."

"I’ve been meaning to get my hair cut for over a month now, but have just been too busy. My hair on top is probably the longest it has been in years. I need to have about an inch taken off the top."

"This has been such a great time. How about as an added bonus that I let you trim my hair for me? I don’t see how it could do any harm seeing that it is so long. If it ends up not looking as good as it should, I can always go to Ken and have him clean it up. What do you say? Would you like to cut my hair for me?"

"Oh, man, Dave. That would be incredible! We’ve talked about how much we would like to just get to comb your hair. Cutting your hair would be the most amazing time! You’re serious? You’d really let us cut your hair?"

"Why not?" I said. "How about if you part my hair on both sides and comb the top to the middle. You could then comb the sides straight down and not brush them back.You could then cut an inch off the top between the two parts. The thought of you guys doing that will be awesome. I think I will enjoy it as much as you guys will. Do all three of you want to cut my hair?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, if you’re willing to let us do it, we’re not going to pass up the opportunity of getting our hands in your hair."

"If you each want to cut an inch off, you can divide the top into three sections and each cut one section. If you’d rather get to cut the entire top, I think I would be willing to let you cut it another half inch shorter. That way each one of you will get to cut half an inch off the entire top. Which way do you want to cut it?"

Tyler spoke up and said, "All three of us would rather just cut off half an inch and get to cut the entire top of your hair instead of just getting to cut one section. Your hair is so awesome looking that it will be unreal getting to trim the entire top for you."

"Okay, let’s do it! Who’s going first? When you finish the top, and if it looks good, I may let you take down the sides and back about half an inch. If you guys do a good job, Ken may end up losing a customer," I laughed.

Tyler was the first guy to cut my hair. He was a little timid at first and had such a serious look on his face, fearful that he might not do a good job.

"Relax, Tyler, and have some fun. You’re only taking off the first half inch so you really can’t mess it up."

When Tyler finished, Brian was next to play barber. He wasn’t timid at all like Tyler. I could tell by the huge smile on his face that he couldn’t wait to take the scissors and cut off some of my hair.

I was glad that Mark was going to be the last one to cut my hair. Of the three of them, I liked his hair the most, probably because it was black, just like mine.

He started out brushing my hair. He then said to me, "You know how we told you how much we wanted to comb your hair? Actually, I’ve always wanted to do more than that. I figured that it would never happen, but your hair is so much like mine, that I’ve always wanted to cut it. You’ve got such great hair and you still have so much of it."

"I tell you what," I said. "My hair was over five inches long before you guys started cutting it. How’d you like to take an inch off the top instead of just a half inch? My hair was so long that losing two inches of it is nothing compared to all the hair you all had cut off. Want to do it?"

"Definitely, I’m going to make certain that the top is cut absolutely perfect. I hope that once you look at it, you’ll go ahead and let us trim the sides and back for you."

"Tyler and Mark agree that of the three of us, that I’m the best barber, so if you are willing to have the sides cut, I’ll be the only barber. That hair of your’s really is a little long on the sides and I’d like to take about half an inch off," he said with a big smile.

Mark brushed my hair that was between the two parts and brushed it all forward. My hair was still below my eye brows.

"Man, this is going to be so fantastic!" he said. "I can’t believe that I’m actually going to cut your hair."

He then took a comb and lifted up my hair in the front and cut off an inch of my hair. He then worked his way towards the back, lifting up a section at a time and cut everything on top down an inch. I could really see that he knew what he was doing and I wasn’t the least bit worried.

When Mark finished cutting the top, I said,"I think it really looks great. If you’d like to trim the sides and back for me I’d really enjoy it."

"Say no more," Mark said. He then combed my hair the way I wore it. "Get ready!" he said. "This is going to be fantastic. I love it that I’m getting to spend more time working on your hair." He then proceeded to section off a lock at the front and cut off half an inch.

"This is so awesome!" he said. "I’m really enjoying getting to keep my hands in your mane and taking it down some more. I love how great your hair feels. It really is beautiful."

Once Mark had finished the haircut, I was really pleased with how great it looked. We took one last round of pictures. It had been a great time for all of us and we really had a lot of fun. This was definitely one hair cut that we all would never forget.

As the guys got ready to leave, I said, "I hope you guys will stop back in after tryouts. I’d really like to know what Coach Allen’s reaction was when he sees you."

"No problem. We’ll stop by after tryouts and tell you all about it. I think Coach is really going to be amazed."

The guys left the shop and I swept up all their hair and put each in a ziplock bag as a souvenir. I then picked up my phone and called Ken.

"You have any plans for this evening? I just gave three of the most mind blowing haircuts I’ve ever given and I have dozens of pictures of these guys getting their awesome hair cut really short."

"There’s a great story behind the whole thing, and I’d love to tell you about it while I’m still so pumped up about what just happened."

"That’d be great," Ken said. "I’m not doing anything, just hanging out at home. You know how much I’d like to hear the whole story. I’ve done a couple great cuts myself this past week that I know you’ll enjoy hearing about. Come on over. Man, I love baseball tryouts!"

---