This Rox pitcher helps kids play ball

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Rockies left-handed reliever Lucas Gilbreath, a product of Legacy High School in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colo., was taken aback by the financial commitment it takes to develop a baseball player.

“These bats and the gloves and everything nowadays just to get these kids to play in the game, it’s crazy compared to when I was playing,” Gilbreath said.

The sticker shock hasn’t dissuaded Gilbreath from being involved in the next generation of players. Gilbreath is co-founder and one of the coaches for VTool Elite Development, which trains some of the best young baseball (and hockey) talent. In January, he will become executive director of the Colorado Ball Players Academy, which will field baseball and softball teams in various age groups out of the same training center as VTool.

In connection to all that, Gilbreath is involved in efforts to make sure those who want to play aren’t priced out of the services he’s bringing.

Gilbreath has become a frequent and enthusiastic volunteer for A Precious Child -- a Broomfield-based non-profit that serves multiple Denver-area communities in various aspects. Sports are only part of what A Precious Child offers in eight Denver-area counties. According to the organization’s website, 250,000 children in the area are living below the Colorado self-sufficiency standard.

The organization attacks socioeconomic inequalities with what it calls a “cradle to career” approach. Sports opportunities are part of that, through donations of equipment and time. Gilbreath is all-in on that and other initiatives.

Last month, Gilbreath conducted his first GiveSports Camp at Regis University in Denver, with players from the collegiate team helping to organize and equipment companies donating equipment for young baseball and softball players.

Before dedicating himself to baseball, Gilbreath made a local name for himself as a youth hockey player. He feels fortunate to have given full effort to two expensive sports, and feels everyone should have the same chance.

“A lot of kids don’t exactly have that opportunity, especially with how expensive everything is getting,” Gilbreath said. “The barrier to entry into a lot of these sports is so hard to overcome. It’s awesome to see groups like this helping these kids out and giving them opportunities.

“A lot of times, they don’t get to play until high school [where equipment costs are defrayed by schools or boosters], and it’s really hard to make a team if you’ve never played before. Giving kids that opportunity really hits home with me.”

Gilbreath doesn’t limit his involvement to sports. He is participating in A Precious Gift’s current holiday drive, which began Nov. 6 and will run through Dec. 8. Anyone may sponsor a child by visiting the organization’s website. Gilbreath will be a presence at various events.

“They collect gifts from people all around the area and have volunteers help wrap them and make them look really fancy,” Gilbreath said. “Then they have people like me, Rocky -- the Nuggets’ mascot -- and support from the other sports teams to help hand out the gifts and make it special for the kids and kind of give them something on this holiday season.”

Gilbreath also wants to help youngsters develop beyond the baseball or softball fields. Gilbreath is celebrity ambassador for A Precious Child’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program. He and his wife, Kelsey, helped put together 1,200 STEM kits, which were filled with age-appropriate activities.

“I was an engineering major in college [at the University of Minnesota], and I love it,” Gilbreath said. “I think a kit that I put together was a catapult. That was fun for me. They donate them to different after-school programs or different kids that might be interested."