FOUNDERS

 

Andy Burress

Drafted in the 6th round of the 1995 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds, Mr. Burress played 7 years of professional baseball as an outfielder and catcher.  Following the end of his career, Mr. Burress started his own training facility and found himself in several businesses focused on retail for a few years.

Going back to his roots where he played travel baseball prior to being drafted, Mr. Burress then took over the Chain Stealth national baseball organization.  He quickly grew it into a premier organization.

In 2017 the decision was made to retire the Chain Stealth name and move forward with a new brand, which we all know as one of the top organizations in travel baseball 5-Star National.

 

Al Goldis

As Co-Owner and General Manager of the “CAT-5” franchise of the “Gulf Shores Collegiate League”, I am proud to say after spending over 40 plus years in Major League baseball that working with and mentoring the players in the GSCL has been a gratifying as well as a rewarding experience.

Having been a professional player, minor league hitting coordinator, scouting director, director of player development, assistant G.M. and V.P. of a few major league teams, has allowed me to teach, coach and relate to our players the standards necessary to play baseball at the ultimate level.

I was quite fortunate to have excellent coaches and scouts working with me during my 40 years in the game while working with the Chicago White Sox, Cubs, Reds, Brewers and the New York Mets.

Our 1990 draft with the CWS was vote by “Baseball America” as the greatest draft in the history of the major league draft….The attention to detail, discipline, our emphasis on both the mental and physical condition of our athletes and the monitoring of the players “attitude” towards the game were critical components and became the benchmark and gold standard in developing championship level players.

 

Damian Moss

Damian signed as an international free agent from Australia with the Atlanta Braves at the age of 16. He enjoyed a 17 year professional baseball career and pitched almost 5 years in the Major Leagues. Damian was a part of the great run the Atlanta Braves had in the 90's and early 2000's as a starting pitcher with the likes of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Kevin Millwood and John Smoltz.

Damian Played in the Major League with the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays.

After his 17 year professional career, Damian came on board with Andy Burress in 2012 with 5 Star National which is the largest high school baseball organization in the country whos main goal is to help high school baseball players get to the next level.

 

 

Jim Thrift

Jim graduated from Winthrop University in 1986 with a B.A. in Sociology and was a member of the Sociology Honor Committee. He spent the next 30 years working in Professional Baseball in both Scouting and Player Development departments. At age 25, Jim was the youngest Manager in baseball while working for the New York Mets minor league team in Kingsport, TN. It was the first of 15 years as a Manager, Instructor, and Coordinator, throughout all levels in the Minor Leagues until arriving as Major Coach in 2001 with the Cincinnati Reds. His teams set many minor league records that stood for decades. In 2002 Jim started his 15 year journey in the Scouting industry and held positions as Area Supervisor, Regional Crosschecker, National Crosschecker as well as Major League and International Scout. His passion in athletic development also led him to develop and supervise the first Research and Development Center in the history of baseball. His studies were published in numerous research and baseball publications and he set out on the groundbreaking path to improve player performance and health as well as restrict performance enhancing drugs.

Jim moved to the Sarasota area in 1998 and has raised 5 kids all while being afforded the opportunity to help grow the game of baseball and assist in launching private baseball instruction facilities. Jim is a highly respected motivational speaker, team leader, project and development manager as well as dedicated volunteer in both Sarasota and Manatee counties.