Gunnar gives back: O's shortstop surprises local kid with specialized cleats

BALTIMORE -- The story of 11-year-old Declan Lefevre’s youth baseball career is inspirational.

When Declan was about 4 years old, a doctor noticed his legs were different lengths. And it wasn’t something he would grow out of, either, which is something his parents -- father Jeff Lefevre and mother Nichole Velasquez -- learned after visits to various specialists.

So in order for Declan to play baseball in recent years while growing up in Elkridge, Md., his family has had to first spend several hundred dollars to send his cleats to a place in Ohio that will modify one of them with a lift and then return them a few months later. The same process has occurred with Declan’s shoes as well.

However, the cleats Declan received during an on-field presentation on Saturday evening at Camden Yards won’t need to undergo that process. They’re ready to go -- and they were delivered by a special guest.

With a partnership between the Orioles and Under Armour, Gunnar Henderson gifted Declan a custom pair of UA Yard Icon cleats that match the pair the Baltimore shortstop wears on the field during games. It was a surprise that the youngster (nor his family) saw coming.

It meant even more because Henderson is Declan’s favorite baseball player.

“There’s always somebody somewhere that has something troubling going on,” Henderson said. “So for me to be able to give to them and give back to them and, honestly, being able to help them out in any way I can is super honoring and humbling to me. It just makes you appreciate what you’re doing and people that love what you’re doing.”

How did this come together? Here’s the background that led to Saturday’s meeting.

Last fall, Kyle Blakely -- Under Armour’s senior vice president of design, innovation and development -- was attending a youth baseball tournament. While there, he noticed a kid wearing modified Under Armour cleats with a makeshift platform added to one shoe. (That, of course, was Declan.)

After learning more about Declan’s story, Under Armour went to work. Blakely partnered with Mark Auger (UA’s director of footwear development and engineering) and the team at the YMUS Development Center to design and build a custom cleat for Declan. They took him through fittings, prototypes and wear-testing to create a solution that would help him perform at his best.

During that process, the employees at Under Armour learned that Declan’s favorite sport is baseball, with Henderson being his favorite player.

So, Under Armour partnered with the Orioles and Henderson to make Saturday’s special moment take place.

“Just love that the Orioles and Under Armour share the same views in being able to help any and everybody out in whatever way possible,” Henderson said. “Being able to design a cleat that’s going to help this kid out to fulfill his dream of playing sports, it’s been really fun to do that.”

Henderson played a ton of sports while growing up in Alabama, and now that he’s a big leaguer, he enjoys finding opportunities to give back to kids, such as Declan.

“I’m all for any and every sport, so it’s really cool to be able to help somebody continue their dream of playing their favorite sport. Couldn’t be happier to help him out,” Henderson said. “Being able to help them in any way you can to continue their athletic career, honestly, it’s just a great feeling.”