Will Gabriel, of Nucla, who was also a Norwood Maverick all four years for varsity football, has had a breakthrough in his baseball career. He told The Norwood Post over the holiday break that things have been going very well.
He attended Trinidad State Junior College on the Front Range for three years after graduating in 2019, but many remember that his first year there was the pandemic’s beginning, and he, along with everyone else, was red-shirted.
Now, he’s at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a school he’d looked at after high school. Some of his close friends from Trinidad had transferred there for baseball, and after the year Gabriel just had, the coaches contacted him, came to visit, and took him on.
Things haven’t come easy for him. He said he struggled some at Trinidad.
“I was putting way too much pressure on myself,” he said. “Just kind of basing my identity, and who I was, off how I performed in baseball. I realized there was no need to have pressure. … My dad never put any pressure on me. He told me if I never played another game, he would still be proud of me.”
Something changed for Gabriel after he realized even if he were to play a bad game, he’d still be living a good life.
He ended up starting as a pitcher last year for Trinidad, which was a big personal goal for him. That happened when his team had already gone through four pitchers, and he was put in the game. He struck out the first 10 batters he faced and ended with 13 strikes that game.
“That was my coming back party,” he said. “I was working so hard for so long. I had to keep my head down and keep working, and it finally came.”
Always internally driven, his next goal was to be named pitcher of the week, and he was. Though his team didn’t win a championship, last year’s work helped him move on to UCCS, and he’s happy.
He’s still studying exercise science, on scholarship, and he’s had a great fall season playing baseball. He said the group of guys at “the Springs” is good, and there are fun things to do in the community.
“My goal is to the best I can be,” he said.
But his goal is to also be a role model. He wants to represent his community and show young players they can succeed, even coming from a very small school.
“You can come from a place as small as Nucla and still do some things,” he said. “You can compete at the next level, if you really want it.”
He said young players shouldn’t avoid setting high goals for themselves, just because they’re from a 1A or 2A school.
“That’s a lie,” he said. “You can do whatever you set your mind to, really.”
He’s still practicing over his winter break, at home in the West End. His father, Randy Gabriel, was clearing snow last week, so his son could get out there and throw.
“I’m grateful for my opportunities and who I’ve gotten to meet and the places I’ve been able to go. It’s been really cool,” Gabriel said. “And I want to represent my community well right now.”
