Morton College

Competitor is the one word that comes up over and over when describing new Morton College baseball coach Tad Slowik.

Go back to the 1980s when Slowik was a two-sport athlete in baseball and basketball at Rollins College, an NCAA Division II program in Winter Park, Florida. Rollins basketball coach Tom Klusman described Slowik in a 1983 school newspaper article as "an outstanding competitor. He was a leader by his actions. He just gets out there and plays his best every day. He's a very aggressive player, the type of player that every coach wants to have on his ball club."

When Slowik talked about his playing days at Rollins in a 2008 article in the Patriot Ledger out of Quincy, Mass., he said, "What you've got (at Rollins) are a bunch of overachievers. A lot of people had talent as far as baseball was concerned, but their work ethic (led to success off the field). We were all fierce competitors."

An arm injury left Slowik at a baseball crossroads in 1986. He was back in the low minor leagues at the age of 25, but needed to know if his baseball career was over for good.

"I'd rather have the opportunity to play and fail than to not get a chance to play again at all," Slowik told the Chicago Tribune in July of 1986.

Slowik hopes to instill that competitive fire into the program at Morton College. He brings an in-depth understanding to Morton College of what it takes to be a major-league baseball player with 28 years of experience in the professional ranks with roles as a player, coach, scout and executive.

"I've always wanted to coach college baseball," Slowik said. "I want to help kids move on. I'm at the point in my career where I want to give back and pass along what I've learned.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity," Slowik added. "I know the people at Morton College are committed to building a high-quality program. We're going to teach the game to prepare people to play for the next level."

Slowik is willing to share what he learned during his time with the Houston Astros about pitching from conversations with Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens and hitting from Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman. Ryan, a Hall of Famer, and Clemens won a combined 678 games and struck out 10,386 in the majors, while Biggio had 3,060 hits on the way to Cooperstown and Berkman was a six-time All-Star.

"Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens had the science of pitching down to a 'T,'" Slowik said. Nolan Ryan would help out in scouting. He'd ask, 'Did you see this?' He's just not a great athlete, but such a student of the game."

Slowik realizes the essence of baseball is simple, but requires an unyielding discipline and practice commitment. He points to the work ethic of shortstop Derek Jeter and explains how the 2020 Hall of Famer made things look easy only after taking thousands of ground balls daily.

"We're going to emphasize pitching and defense," Slowik said. "If you throw strikes and pick up balls, you'll be in every game. Not every day you're going to put up a 10-spot."

He's aiming to recruit "high-end kids." Spend two years at Morton College and you're eligible to be either drafted or move to on a four-year school.

"The recruiting process sometimes is a strange animal," Slowik added. "In baseball, every kid develops at a different pace. I'm looking for guys with talent who are willing to work hard and grind it out. I think I'm able to evaluate and develop players once they're here. I have that vision of what it takes and I'm willing to help a kid start seeing that. It's up to me to show them how to reach their highest potential."

Slowik grew up in Skokie and earned all-state honors in baseball as a pitcher at Niles East High School. He had a number of NCAA Division I offers before choosing Rollins, which offered him the opportunity to play two sports. In baseball, Rollins was NCAA Division II in name only and took on all comers, including the likes of Michigan, Florida, Florida State and Clemson.

As a senior, Slowik was named Rollins' Athlete of the Year. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 27th round of the 1983 June MLB amateur draft. Slowik reached Class AAA in 1987 with the Iowa Cubs before his playing career ended a year later in the Houston Astros organization.

Slowik started climbing the organization ladder with the Astros, starting as a pitching coach in the minor leagues. He moved over to scouting going from Midwest Area scout to Central Regional supervisor to National Crosschecker before being named Coordinator of Amateur Scouting.

As Coordinator of Amateur Scouting, he managed the scouting department's day-to-day operations and selected players for the Astros in the MLB Draft. In his leadership role with the Astros, Slowik played a big part in developing over 100 players at the major league level.
 
Slowik also led the Astros advanced scout team for the 2005 World Series against the Chicago White Sox. During his tenure with the Astros, the team made six playoffs appearance with three divisional title and the club's first World Series appearance.
 
In 2012, Slowik started Dream Big Athletics Baseball Academy in Palatine. As owner/president, Slowik and his staff have helped place over 100 players in college and had four players drafted by MLB clubs.
 
"Our development principles include an emphasis on the fundamentals," Slowik said. "If you can do the simple things, you'll be able to do the harder things."
 
Throughout his career, Slowik has enjoyed many successes in the evaluation and development of baseball players and looks forward to bringing that success to Morton College.
 
"I've been very blessed, sportswise that things have gone my way," Slowik said. "I feel very fortunate to have accomplished a lot of things."

What people are saying about Tad Slowik

“Tad has been one of the top evaluators of players in the game. He has the skills and experience to develop players to play at the highest levels of baseball. He will bring the right players to Morton College.”
“Tad is a fierce competitor. This competitive fire will be instilled into his players along with a great passion for the game and a great work ethic. Morton College baseball will have some tough competitors.”
“Tad has a great feel for young talent and developing players. He has the experience to give the Morton College baseball players the physical, mental and emotional tools to succeed at the highest levels.of the game.”
“Tad has a great ability to identify young talent and develop it to compete at the highest levels. He does an exceptional job with pitching. Morton College baseball will produce some great players for years to come.”