Staff
Our Instructors
Future Stars Baseball Academy instructors all have professional baseball experience.
Eric Welsh – Hitting Instruction
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 established his own academy, “Future Starts Baseball Club.” His clients include some of Chicago’s best travel teams and high school and college players.
Brian Forystek – Pitching Instruction
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.
Todd Mensik – Hitting Instruction
Todd was born and raised in Orland Park. He went to Carl Sandburg High School where he was a four year varsity starter. During his career at Sandburg he earned All Conference honors all four years, All State honors three years and All American honors two years. He went on to play college baseball under Don Kessinger at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) before being drafted by the Oakland Athletics after his junior season. He played seven seasons with the A’s where he led the A’s minor league system in HRs and RBIs from 1998-2001. He was also the A’s minor league Player of the Year in Visalia in 1999. After his playing career, Todd was the advanced A hitting coach with the Texas Rangers and worked with the likes of Ian Kinsler and Adrian Gonzalez. Todd now lives in New Lenox with his wife Heather and sons Landon and Luke.
Bill Musselman – Catching and Hitting Instruction
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.
Megan Shimkus – Softball Pitching Instruction
Megan has 14 years of pitching experience at the most elite levels in softball. Her travel softball career included playing for the Stone City Sharks for four years and for the Orland Park Sparks for a year. She has competed at the national level for travel softball since she was 14 years old. She attended Lincoln- Way East HS and as a sophomore helped lead her team to the Class AA State Championship game for the win in 2002. She was named the Will County Softball Pitcher of year in 2003 with an ERA of 0.36 and was also a member of the SICA West all-conference team for pitching. She averaged just under 9 k’s per 7 innings in high school while playing in the toughest softball conference in the state. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where I garnered 1st team all-conference awards during her junior and senior year. As a junior she finished with an ERA of 1.88 and was ranked 11th in the nation for averaging just under 10 k’s per 7 innings of play. She has been giving pitching lessons for the last 2 years since graduating college. She has worked with raw beginners and advanced college bound pitchers. She is well versed in the rise ball, screw, drop, curve, and change. Her training style is leap and drag with an emphasis on solid base mechanics.
Derek Kopacz – Hitting and Fielding Instruction
Derek comes from a lineage of baseball players including his father, George who played for 15 years including time in the Major Leagues. He attended Lockport high school where he accumulated many accomplishments in football and in baseball.
After high school, Derek attended JJC where he won the Division III Junior College National Championship. He then went on to play baseball at Triton winning the North Central Region Big Stick batting title with a .432 batting average as a third baseman and team mate of another Future Stars Instructor, Jim Schmidt.
Derek was drafted twice by the Detroit Tigers and went on to play for 9 years professionally. He spent the first three years of his professional career as a third baseman switching to the outfield for the last six, with stints as a catcher and first baseman as well. He was a two-time All-Star winning the Home Run contest and Best Outfield Arm in the All-Star competition festivities. Derek has a lifetime average of .271.
After coaching at the high school level, Derek decided it was best to take on the coaching responsibilities for his oldest son, Kyler’s team. As a travel baseball coach, Derek boasts a record of 151-29 and is in his 5th year as a travel baseball coach. He has been a baseball instructor for the past 10 years, helping boys reach their full potential on the diamond. He specializes in hitting and in fielding.
Derek now lives in New Lenox with his wife, Judi, and their 5 children- Kourtney, Kyler, Kaden, Kamryn, and Kaleb.
Scott Spoolstra – Hitting Instruction
Played in the New York Mets Organization
Josh Flores – Hitting and Fielding Instruction
Josh attended Lincoln Way Central High School in New Lenox, IL. He then continued his education at Triton College. An Appalachian League All-Star in 2005, he was a leader in home runs, batting average, hits, runs, doubles and triples. Led the league with 83 hits, while his .335 batting average ranked third. Josh was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round (134th overall) of the 2005 draft.
Kai Freeman – Pitching Instruction
Kai graduated from Joliet Catholic Academy, where he received awards in baseball that included All Conference honors, All State honors and All State Honorable Mention. In 1993 Kai was a member of the USA Pan-American team that earned a gold medal. His Joliet Catholic Academy baseball team won the 1994 IHSA State Championship. He graduated in 1995, with a .34 ERA for the season.
Kai attended the University of Minnesota, where they won the Big 10 Tournament in 1998. Kai was drafted in 1998 by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round. He played six seasons, ranging from rookie league to AAA, with the Chicago White Sox farm system; and his team won the Appalachian League Championship in 1998.
Kai spent a few years working in the Thornwood High School baseball program as a pitching coach.
Kai now lives in Romeoville with his wife, Megan, and their children – Jordan and Jazlyn.
Jim Schmidt – Hitting and Fielding Instruction
Coach Schmidt brings a wealth of experience to the Future Stars Baseball Academy. Jim played his 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.
Tony DeFazio – Hitting and Fielding Instruction
Tony is a graduate of Argo Community High School, where he lettered in baseball and football. He also received All-Conference honors in his junior and senior year.
After High School, Tony continued his studies locally at Morraine Valley Community College where he received his Associates Degree. He earned an athletic scholarship to play shortstop for MVCC. He played two years at MVCC and lead his team in hitting and stolen bases both years. He received First-Team All Conference selection in both years at MVCC. Tony transferred to Western Illinois University for his junior and senior year of college. Tony received Seconnd Team All-Conference selection as a junior and 1st team All-Conference selection as a senior. Tony was three hits away from the WIU school hitting record before a season ending injury.
After college, Tony found a way to share his knowledge and passion of the game through coaching and instructional lessons. Tony coached at Argo Community HS for four years teaching his students the proper mechanics and etiquette of the game. Currently, Tony is coaching the Orland Park Magic and giving instructional lessons for Future Stars Baseball Academy.
Brittany Kohnke - Softball Hitting Instruction
With over 15 years of playing and coaching experience combined, Brittany has a strong base of knowledge for the game of softball. Brittany attended Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights where she was a 4-year Varsity softball player. While at Shepard, she earned All-Conference recognition and received the “Coaches Award” during her senior season in 2003. After high school, Brittany attended Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills. During her two years at Moraine, Brittany earned All-Conference recognition, and broke the school’s record for the “most multiple base hits in a season”. Brittany’s training philosophy includes one of hard work, repetition, and a great understanding of the “mental” aspect of the game, especially offensively.
