Norcott makes his power play

Self-taught lifter racks up the titles

Powerlifter John Norcott, a Norton native and Dean College student, works out at Velocity Sports in Foxborough. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

John Norcott had a little extra motivation at the Raw National Powerlifting Championships in St. Louis.

He had already clinched the title before his third and final dead lift, when powerlifting legend Mike Bridges, 51, offered some inspirational words.

"He told me to go for it all," Norcott recalled.

And he did, deadlifting 600 pounds, his all-time best by 65 pounds. Norcott, 19, won the July 25-27 competition by also squatting 518 pounds and bench-pressing 302 - a total of 1,420.

"Usually I'm pumped up at a meet with all of the people looking at me and judging me," said Norcott. But when Bridges was talking to him, "the adrenaline really started to flow."

The win was Norcott's first at a Raw competition, which allows the athletes to use minimal equipment during lifts. But winning competitions is nothing new for the Norton native. The 6-foot, 210-pound Norcott won the US Powerlifting Association Teen & Junior national title in 2006 and 2007 and the New England regionals each of the last three years.

"I picked up powerlifting my junior year of high school," said Norcott, a sophomore at Dean College, a two-year college in Franklin.

He started lifting weights as a freshman at Norton High School to prepare for football. Norcott has never worked with a personal trainer. He has never even had a coach. His brother Jim, 23, initially participated in the workouts. That, however, didn't last long.

"I tried to keep up with him, but that was pretty short-lived," Jim Norcott said.

Norcott essentially learned everything he knows about powerlifting on his own.

"Just read a lot of magazines and a lot of books," Norcott said. "I love it."

Norcott is studying exercise science and has started designing workouts for his fellow students.

"He's always been self-motivated," Jim Norcott said. "He can really get things done when he puts his mind to it."

Norcott hopes that self-motivation will produce the same results in another sport.

"I can powerlift until I'm 60 years old," he said. "The window of opportunity for me to play football is much smaller."

Norcott said he plans to train for powerlifting only in the offseason and focus on football. He's a running back for Dean, which competes in the Northeast Football Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association. He got in only three games last season as a freshman, on the kick return team. Norcott has loftier aspirations this season.

"I want to play in every game this year," he said. "I want to score 10 touchdowns and rush for 1,200 yards."

Camp opens Saturday, and Jim Norcott thinks his brother is better suited playing fullback or linebacker.

"He's a fast kid, but he's not the fastest," Jim said. "And he's only going to get bigger because of powerlifting. I think he'd be better suited for a position that does more blocking."

"I'm just trying to prove to the coaches that I can play," Norcott said. "I can't wait to go to camp and compete for the running back spot."

Norcott hopes all the training will help. He has an internship at Velocity Sports Performance in Foxborough and works out every day. Norcott has been doing speed and endurance training on top of his powerlifting regime.

"Powerlifting definitely helps in football," Norcott said. "The squats and deadlifts help out with all the blocking."

He also regularly incorporates plyometrics - repeated rapid stretching and contracting of muscles - into his workouts to help increase speed and reaction time.

Norcott plans to attend a university after finishing at Dean. His top choices are the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boise State, and the University of New Hampshire. All three have strong football programs.

"He's never been pushed by anyone to powerlift or play sports," Jim said of his brother. "And, honestly, that's probably why he has been so successful. His ability to push himself harder and harder is uncanny."