As any track & field or cross-country coach will tell you, coaching high school athletes to be successful is about much more than the physical aspect of the sport. It’s not just about making sure they are properly trained for competition by designing workouts to fit their individual needs.
There’s also the mental part of preparing the young minds of athletes who have made the commitment to dedicate themselves to the often long days of training required to excel. This comes in many forms. There are the words of encouragement and the helpful tips on strategy before the big race. More than anything, there’s the genuine compassion a coach shows to their athletes- every one of them, regardless of their talent.
It’s the coach who is always on your side, always willing to listen and always there to show that he truly cares about each person who has trusted him/her as their leader. And sometimes, it’s that part of coaching – the part that has nothing to do with times, places or medals – that an athlete remembers most.
That was longtime Norton High coach and educator Kent Taylor, who sadly passed away on Thursday after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Taylor, 45, leaves behind a legacy that includes an impressive collection of championship plaques and top-level athletes. More than anything else, the popular coach leaves behind hundreds of athletes who will forever be grateful for the impact he had on their lives.
“Thanks for all you did for everyone you knew, and didn’t know. You will be missed, my friend,” posted Woburn coach James Fletcher on Facebook. “There will never be anyone like you.”
Fletcher’s comments echoed the sentiments expressed by so many since his passing.
Taylor, who was a standout three-season athlete for Taunton High and the University of Vermont from 1995-2003, went on to have a successful coaching career at Norton. His teams captured nearly 20 conference and state championships, while compiling an overall record of 337-165-4.
Rick Kates, the former Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) and current Director of Event Timing, had nothing but praise for his dear friend.
“I think Kent as a coach shared great passion and love of the sport to all his student-athletes,” he said. “He grew such a great program at Norton High School where he was just beloved for his enthusiasm and love for all those kids and making them succeed in and out of the classroom. He was a great English teacher as well. He was just revered in that school. They named the track after him. No one ever heard of Norton High School until he showed up.”
Kates recalled the time Taylor won his first state title, when his boys’ squad captured the Division 4 indoor track & field crown in 2015. In typical fashion, it was all about everyone else during the celebration. It was something Kates witnessed at virtually every meet where Taylor’s teams came out on top.
“The type of guy he was, he gave everyone credit except for him,” said Kates, also a Hall of Fame coach during a nearly three-decade career at Notre Dame Academy. “He was the one that put it all together, set up all the workouts for them, made sure they had everything they needed. It was like that with other people that he went against in his league or the division or the state meet. He was always going around to them, thanking them and congratulating them first. It just showed how much character he had in him. He never wanted to talk about him.”
Like Kates, longtime Dennis-Yarmouth coach and former MSTCA president Jim Hoar was among the many people who were deeply affected by the news of Taylor’s passing.
“This is such sad news,” he said. “He was THE most positive person—to his students, his athletes, his fellow coaches.”
Hoar remembered a particularly difficult time in his own life, when his daughter, Kristen Polizzotto, a former Stoneham coach, was diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away following a five-year battle. At the time, Taylor was serving as the MSTCA’s social media director.
“When my daughter Kristen was diagnosed with lymphoma, Kent was so supportive to me and my family,” he said. “He used the social media to keep all the MSTCA coaches updated and had hundreds of coaches attend her services. When Kristen passed, Kent got an MSTCA Bib #1 and had many coaches sign it and presented it to me. He was always thinking of others and their needs.”
Hoar recalled a visit he had with Taylor after his first operation.
“We’d be talking and on a few occasions he would have a little trouble getting the words out – so he’d laugh and tell me that his circuit breaker was not fully functioning,” he said. “And then he would laugh and kept moving on. Just a wonderfully beautiful person.”
Fletcher talked about his experiences with Taylor when he first developed a successful program at Woburn back in 2014.
“He was welcoming and personable,” he said. “What Kent really did better than anyone was highlight the human element of the sport. It’s the hallmark of a great coach and commentator, and there has been none better in my experience than Kent. He will be missed by those he knew and didn’t know alike, and his contributions to Massachusetts scholastics will never be matched.”
In addition to the tremendous impact he had at Norton and throughout his coaching career, Taylor was a dedicated and loving husband and father to his wife, Kaylene, and their two young children, Vera and Daniel. He was the proud son of Robert and Donna Taylor.
“He was a great father, a great husband,” Kates said. “He would be the first to ask me about my daughter or other coaches and their kids and what was going on. I would always get messages from him, showing me pictures of his kids and how proud he was, how fast they were growing up. Just unbelievable.”
In a project spearheaded by one of his former athletes, Jake Antosca, Norton’s school officials dedicated its new track in Taylor’s name three years ago. It was a fitting tribute to a coach and educator that meant so much to the countless athletes and students that he’s taught and mentored through the years.
When he was diagnosed with cancer back in 2020, Taylor adopted two words as his mantra – Carpe Diem. It means seize the day. It was something he lived by, and he made sure to mention it during an emotional speech he gave during the track dedication that was attended by more than 800 people.
“I lived by this every day and I would encourage all of you to try and do the same,” he said.
Seize the day.
That’s exactly what he did.
“His legacy will live on every time a Norton athlete steps on the track,” Hoar said.
It truly will – and so will the impact he had on the many lives he touched.
