Staff

Brian Forystek – Founder & President

Brian graduated from Carl Sandburg High School with many baseball and soccer accomplishments, that include USA Today All-American honors, Chicago Tribune Pitcher of the Year, and being drafted by the Florida Marlins. He decided to continue his education and attended Illinois State University before pursuing a professional baseball career.

At Illinois State University, he continued his success on the baseball field. As a four year letter winner, Brian totaled the second most strikeouts, third most innings pitched, and sixth most wins in school history. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science and was then drafted by the Baltimore Orioles.

Brian pitched nine professional seasons and earned a spot on the 40 man roster for two and a half seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched at every level in the minor leagues (Rookie-AAA) where he accumulated numerous honors. During the off season of his professional career he pitched in the Arizona Fall League and Venezuelan and Puerto Rican winter leagues.
Over the last eight years, Brian has dedicated his talent to teaching pitching mechanics, arm strength, and arm conditioning programs to kids of all ages.

Eric Welsh – Founder

Eric graduated from Carl Sandburg High School, where he received All-Area honors in football and baseball.

After high school he attended Northern Illinois University, serving double duty pitching and hitting for three years. Eric’s college career was cut short after being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, but not before he became the school’s “All-Time Career Homerun Leader.”

After college Eric spent eight years with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox organizations. During his career he made three All-Star teams, three All-Defensive teams, and led his teams in homeruns five times. During this time, Eric and his teammates won two League Championship titles. In the off-season, Eric trained young athletes at baseball academies in Chicago’s south suburbs, specializing in hitting, defense, pitching, and strength training.

On top of his baseball career, Eric is a certified personal trainer and ran a “Fitness for Kids” program. Four years ago, Eric & his partner, Brian Forystek, established their own baseball academy, “Future Starts Baseball Academy.” Their clients include some of Chicago’s best travel, high school, and college players.

Bill Musselman – Coach

Bill grew up in Homer Glen and attended Providence Catholic High School. Before graduating in 2003, he achieved All-Conference, All-Area, Illinois All-Star, and All-State honors. He accepted a scholarship to Saint Louis University where he started for four years. While there, he earned best defensive catcher (Conference USA) as a sophomore, and All-Conference and All-Tournament teams his final two seasons (Atlantic 10 Conference.) In 2007, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tom Radz – Coach

Tom Radz, a former Western Illinois and UIC pitcher, was a member of the Western Illinois coaching staff for seven years, where he coached the pitchers and catchers. He also served as the national recruiting coordinator.

Tom also served as the Head Coach at Moraine Valley Community College for two years.

In addition to his work at Western, Radz has served as a guest coach at the University of Kansas Jayhawk Baseball Camps and for TPX Top 96 summer clinics.

Scott Spoolstra – Coach

Drafted by the New York Mets in the 46th round of the 1987 MLB Draft from Moraine Valley Community College.

Jim Schmidt – Coach

Jim played high school baseball at Brother Rice High School, leading the team from the shortstop position to two Chicago Catholic League championships. Jim was inducted into the Brother Rice High School Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. After high school, Jim attended Triton College and played second base, leading the Trojans to a second place finish at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1994. The team returned to the tournament again in 1995. Coach Schmidt signed with the University of California at Berkeley after his sophomore season. Jim started for the Bears at third base in 1996 and 1997, hitting .330 in his senior season. After college, he played in the Frontier League for two seasons, making the All-Star team with the Cook County Cheetahs in 1997. After graduating with a B.A. in History from Cal in 1998, Jim played again in 1999 with the River City Rascals near St. Charles, Missouri.
Jim coached at Triton College with JUCO Hall of Fame coach Bob Symonds from 1998-2001. He has coached at many high schools in the Chicago area and is currently the sophomore baseball coach at Evergreen Park High School.

Greg Billo Jr. – Coach

Greg was selected in the 28th round out of high school of the 2008 draft. He had a couple of great seasons as a pitcher on three different rookie league teams. Then, in 2011 on the Kane County Cougers (A Team), he blossomed with an absurd 1.93 ERA, 119 strikeouts to 25 walks, and HR/9 of 0.4. His SO/9 rate dropped a bit from 2010, but all his other metrics look strong for the pitcher many consider to have had the best control in the Royals organization.

Greg was a professional for 4 years. Greg also credits his improvement in 2011 to “a few mechanical changes and a lot of little tweaks,” made under the watchful eye and guidance of Cougars pitching coach Jim Brower.

Corky Miller – Winter Training Director

Corky Miller will be Chicago Elite’s hitting instructor for all Winter practices.

2014 was Corky Miller’s 17th professional season behind the plate. He has played in the Major Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds (2001-04, 2009-10), Minnesota Twins (2005), Boston Red Sox (2006), Atlanta Braves (07 &08) and Chicago White Sox (2009). This past year Corky played with the National League Central Division Champion Cincinnati Reds, and will be back with them in 2012. He has played with notable players like Chipper Jones, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr, and Mark Teixeira.