VTOOL HELPING PLAYERS LEVEL UP
Run by local alumni, program provides baseball training to young athletes
Tyler Reyburn’s first two years of high school baseball wasn’t cutting it. He needed to find a way to level up behind the plate and beside it.
Two and a half months ago, the Mead junior catcher joined Vtool Elite Development, a training facility located in Broomfield, seeking to improve his game with the help of a few former and current professionals. In a short amount of time, he’s not only increased his power at the plate. He gets to catch from pitchers at every level of the game.
One of its co-founders, Legacy alum and current Rockies reliever Lucas Gilbreath, has served as a mentor for the young catcher as he looks to give back to the community that helped mold him on the mound. Shawn Kirkman, Vtool’s director of sports performance, helped Reyburn unlock his peak physical performance as Holy Family alum Nick Kreutzer has altered his hitting mechanics. Reyburn is better off for it. “The biggest thing for me — and always has been — has just been getting bigger, just being stronger to be able to handle playing at the varsity level and being ready to play at the varsity level,” Reyburn said. “It’s been very eye-opening to be in here and just seeing what these really high-level guys look like and where I need to be to be able to handle them effectively.”
Reyburn hopes that with their guidance, he can not only become a reliable starter and leader for the Mavericks, but a force that can propel the team into the playoffs. He’s clearly in the right place for that.
Providing an outlet for northern Colorado
When the opportunity presented itself to Gilbreath and his partners, Tom Dedin Jr. and Tim Naiman, a year and a half ago, they jumped at the chance to build a business that could bring much-needed baseball development to the place Gilbreath calls home.
On a January Friday night, the pings of balls connecting with the bats of aspiring young ballplayers rang through a facility teeming with talent.
The coaches at Vtool use a wide range of technology to educate their players in both the mental and physical aspects of the game, including Rapsodo (pitch design), 4D motion with biomechanics sensors,
pocket radar and laser timers. They train the athletes through speed and agility metrics and weightlifting while working on throwing and pitching velocities, among other techniques.
The project gave Gilbreath an outlet of his own, as he worked his way back from an elbow flexor strain that sidelined him prematurely during a promising 2022 season. Prior to his exit, he had amassed a 4.19 ERA through 43 innings. When he wasn’t rehabbing his arm, he was imparting his wisdom on high school and middle school players in and around the Denver area.
The program completed a vision he held since he was first drafted by the Rockies in 2014 — when his high school career ended — then again in 2017.
“For me, it was all about just giving Colorado kids a better opportunity,” Gilbreath said. “Especially northern kids, I think, are slightly limited in what resources they have, the things they have access to. It was a cool opportunity for me to be able to give back in a sense of some of the things I’ve learned along with giving these guys better and better opportunities.” The mentorship came with an unexpected twist for the 26-year-old major leaguer as he examined his own pitching mechanics on the road to recovery, which is just about complete. He heads to Arizona for Spring Training on Friday.
“There was a time when I was talking to the kids about (how) I struggle with staying in my back leg, because I want to tip,” he said. “One of the kids told me, ‘Well, if you get into your knee and your butt, you’re not going to tip.’ It was a seventh-grader giving me advice. The next week, I started trying it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This kid is on to something.’ Sometimes they simplify the game in a way that helps you think about it from a better perspective.’”
Gilbreath isn’t the only local player to bring his professional career to the forefront of Vtool.
Last year, after Holy Family alum Nick Kreutzer (2015) completed his independent league career with the Eastside Diamond Hoppers in Michigan, Vtool reached out, asking him to join their team. Dedin knew he could provide valuable insight as both a power hitter and someone whose career took an unconventional path.
Kreutzer jumped at the opportunity to keep feeding his passion, even though his playing days were behind him.
“We live in a bubble here in Broomfield, Colorado, to where this really isn’t how the real world works, even the baseball world works,” Kreutzer said. “I just try and give them a little insight into how the game is supposed to be because high school baseball is honestly really easy.
“A guy hitting .300 is a good player who’s not a great player, and then the higher up you get, that .300 number becomes great. I’m trying to get them to understand that just because you’re a good player now doesn’t mean you can just be content where you’re at. You have to keep growing in order to get to where you want to be.”
Growth is what Vtool is all about, and the response has been overwhelming. In less than two years of existence, the business is expanding with a second location in Mead, in partnership with FORWARD Training.
Gilbreath is excited to expand Vtool’s outreach and work with more players like Reyburn achieve their full potential as he strives to reach his once again.
“I think the demand has been even greater than we expected,” Gilbreath said. “We started Vtool with a vision to try to help offer as many athletes as possible elite training via highlevel technology and methodology. We have had some great results and a lot of kids have worked their butts off to develop fast.”