My name is Brian Vail. I grew up in Southern California playing all types of sports but focused on baseball, football, and basketball in high school. Eventually I landed at the University of Denver to play baseball – pitcher and shortstop. I stayed in Colorado for the lifestyle and have raised my family here for the past 30 years.
I spent 15 years coaching both of my kids in baseball and softball until they went to high school. I have participated in all levels of baseball and softball — from recreational to competitive leagues, managing teams, to providing private lessons. To this day, I still compete in the Men’s Adult Baseball League on the Denver Tigers team.
Why am I starting this business now?
At the age of four, I started playing baseball. It was then that my love for the sport began. At 13 I began my coaching career. I coached a 9U team with my dad and even did some umpiring for a few years. Beyond my college career, I played both competitive and rec softball. I raised both my kids playing the sport. As a result, I have the perspective of both the parent and coach.
Given my lifelong experience with the sport, I feel like there are still gaps to fill when it comes to our youth being exposed to and accelerating in the sport.
So many kids get exposed to the sport at a young age, and for many reasons (mas or menos) they choose not to continue with it…
- It wasn’t fun…
- It was boring…
- They were never really taught the basics…
- They had a coach that tried but didn’t really know what they were doing…
- They had a coach that didn’t teach the skills/techniques based on the age/experience of the player — they used a one-size fits all mentality…
- They got too serious too quickly…
- They were pushed too hard at a young age…
- They were always asked to go up to the next level and therefore stopped playing with their friends…
I felt like I could create a place to help kids not quit the sport, regardless of the reason why they chose to or want to stop playing. If Gap2Gap can help bring back the fun, provide some foundational learnings, and help kids find success at each level, then those “many reasons” for quitting may no longer matter.
My passion was to create an organization where I can provide ballplayers of all levels the experience of feeling comfortable and safe to work on their baseball and softball skills in a fun and high energy environment.
Gap2Gap is to be a home for ballplayers to not only enhance their skills on the diamond, but to connect with a community of friends that share the same passion — to play ball!