Give Brian Salapatek a choice and the new Morton College softball coach will go with brains over brawn any time.
“My philosophy standpoint is that developing talent leads to wins on the field,” Salapatek said. “It’s about bringing in smart ballplayers who are coachable. You coach them up to make the program better.”
Salapatek brings an extensive coaching portfolio to the table at Morton College with experience at both the travel and community college levels. He spent the last three years as an assistant at Kishwaukee College and has won a USSSA national championship in 1999 with the Rabble-Rousers, a travel team Salapatek started six years earlier with players from the south suburbs.
The Rabble-Rousers were ranked No. 1 in the state in 1999, 2002 and 2003. The Whipper Snappers, a team Salapatek started when he moved from the south suburbs to his current home in Cortland, placed fifth at the USSSA nationals in 2006. They, too, held the state’s No. 1 mantel.
“We are really happy with the hire of Brian,” Morton College athletic director Lee Milano said. “He comes to us after being an assistant at Kishwaukee where he helped the program improve its win total from 5 in year one to 30 two years later. He’s also well-known in the travel softball circuit. We’re excited to have him.”
In addition, Salapatek was the athletic director at Saint Mary School in Sycamore from 2009 to 2013 and an assistant baseball coach at Aurora Central Catholic High School from 2011 to 2013.
“Fundamentals are key – good fundamentals lead to good play,” Salapatek noted. “I like to be aggressive offensively by running and making the other team throw the ball around. We like to steal bases – we’re not afraid to get thrown out. Defensively, we like to be conservative and keep the game simple.”
The native of Tinley Park played baseball and bowled at Illinois Institute of Technology where he graduated from in 1992 with a bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering.
He is married to Julie and they have five children – two sons (Andrew and Zachary) and three daughters (Stephanie, Samantha, Alexis).
