Kent Stock

Teacher, coach, principal, banker, husband, parent and powerful speaker, Kent Stock is also the man who coached the 1991 Norway High School baseball team during their now-famous final season. As depicted in the 2007 film, The Final Season, the nationally recognized Norway baseball team came together under inauspicious circumstances. They defied the odds under the leadership of then first-year head baseball coach, Kent Stock, and proceeded to win Norway’s 20th state title. Kent began his career in Belle Plaine, Iowa where he became well known and respected as both a teacher and coach. While scouting a game he met the head coach of nearby Norway, Iowa’s famous baseball team, Jim Van Scoyoc, who agreed to interview Kent for an assistant coach position that had just opened up in Norway. Over the years, Norway, a tiny community of less than 600, defied statistical probability by producing 16 professional baseball players and countless college players. After a year as Van Scoyoc’s assistant, Kent became the head coach just as Norway was notified that the school would be merging with a neighboring school in the fall, making the summer of 1991 the last baseball season as Norway High School. The team, led by 30-year-old Kent, had only one goal in mind as they started their final season – to win Norway’s 20th State Title. As you’ll see in the movie, they accomplished just that. In 2006, that memorable summer of 1991 was brought to life again by film-maker David Mickey Evans and the star-studded cast of the 2007-realeased film, The Final Season. While a long-time inspirational force for the many students he has taught and coached over the years, their families and countless educational providers, Kent launched his professional speaking career in 2007. His messages of motivation and relationship building have a powerful impact on young and old alike. His stories transcend the baseball field, class and office.