Come fly the Gillmans.

One of Colorado’s numerous families that really love baseball doesn’t have to fly as much to watch its boys participate in the game that means so much to them even though they are associated with the Air Force Academy.

Older son C.J. Gillman has been an assistant with the Falcons since 2014. Younger brother Tommy Gillman has joined the Falcons and the team this school year after stops at two previous schools.

That means dad Chuck, who has been quick to follow his boys around the country’s diamonds at least will have a local base. He may be getting to the point that he can roll up and down Interstate-25 blindfolded.

“I would imagine it’s sweet for dad,” C.J. Gillman said. “He’s down at every single practice, scrimmage … everything we’ve got. We’ve got a big, grass field outside of our left-field fence. Every time we’re taking (batting practice) before the game there’s some dude up there chipping golf balls.”

That dude is Chuck Gillman, mostly known for coaching on the state-schoolboy-level at Columbine, but he also had assorted stints at Kent Denver, Denver East, Mullen, Bishop Machebeuf, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson over multiple decades. He’s also retired and enjoying as much golf as possible, though he’s seeing even more baseball.

“Now, both boys are at the same school and it’s fun,” Chuck Gillman said.

It is for Tommy Gillman, too. It’s also very demanding, but he says it’s worth it. He was at Texas A&M for a year and switched to Midland before deciding to join his older brother and what the AFA has to offer. And these are moves he’s glad he made.

“About three-quarters of the way (through his first year at A&M), I realized I wanted to transfer and wasn’t sure where I wanted to go,” he said. “If I ended up going to a junior college, I wouldn’t have to sit out. I was happy with Midland, one of the best years of my life.

“I talked to a lot of different schools and didn’t know if I wanted to go to another big school. I was talking with my brother and I knew the Air Force Academy would be a good fit for me.”

The younger Gillman, who battled cancer as a youth and seriously considered heading to the Falcons right out of Columbine, appeared in just 17 games at A&M, mostly as a pinch-hitter. But at Midland, he batted .339 with 12 home runs and 52 runs batted in along with 18 doubles, five triples and 129 total bases.

A shortstop, the 5-foot-10 Gillman, who may also see time at third base, is down to 175 pounds.

“I bulked up at A&M and I felt slow and fat,” he said.

Said C.J. Gillman: “He’ll be in the lineup somewhere stealing bases and being a dirt bag.”

Tommy Gillman finds himself particularly busy because this isn’t simply transferring schools. He’s a Cadet, there was basic training and the academics are about as challenging as they get. On the field, he’s a junior. In the class room, he’s a freshman.

“I’ve had to start over academically,” he said. “You have to go through all of that stuff. I went through the basic training and the core classes, and I have to take all of the engineering classes.”

He said he carried a 4.0 grade-point average at Midland, but is closer to half that early at the AFA “and it’s difficult, but good for me … I’m busy, but this is the best fall I’ve had.”

Not surprisingly, special tactics are of interest to him.

“I’m getting a feel for what this place has to offer,” he added.

He got through “glider flying” recently, his father said, “and there are so many options for him.”

No doubt, Tommy Gillman said, “A&M was a good experience and I just wanted the right fit. I felt good when I went the JUCO route. It was what I needed and experience goes a long way.”

Plus, playing for his older brother and closer to the family home can’t hurt.

“It’s like the coolest thing ever,” C.J. Gillman said. “I get to show up every day and I love coaching here. But getting to coach him is cool and I knew it would be. Our guys worked hard and I know what l’m going to get from him -- somebody ready to work his ass off. It’s exciting for me.

“Maybe it’s what my dad felt coaching us growing up.”

Chuck Gillman said he’ll be there in Baton Rouge in February, when the Falcons begin their schedule LSU, then take on Middle Tennessee State. As usual for the year, he said, he’ll enjoy “throwing his golf clubs in the back of the pickup every week and having a blast.”

Said Tommy Gillman: “I knew the Air force Academy would be a good fit for me.”

He hopes to fly through it.