NORWICH – The Norwich High School fitness room, as many call it – is home to every student-athlete at Norwich at one point in time.

However, for any true ‘meathead’, this fitness room is better known as the weight room. These student-athletes don’t just lift, they live at the weight room – it is a way of life.

With the blasting of heavy metal, or the smash of metal plates – the Norwich weight room is much like any other weight room at a high school, but yet, so different.

Aspiring student-athletes maneuvering around each other for the best rack, all while staying busy until practice is over.

That is not the case for all of these student-athletes. Some, like the ones honored by being listed on the wall, look at the weight room as a job. A planned out, meticulous, and sometimes therapeutic place that when taken seriously can lead an athlete to bigger and better things.

The constant through all the years of lifting – coach Tom Stoddard, a Norwich graduate himself.

“The whole reason for putting weights up in the weight room was to help kids set goals, to push them to get better in their own sport,” said coach Stoddard, a Norwich Track and Field, Football and weightlifting coach. “It is also a perfect opportunity for kids who may not want to join a team sport but want to set goals and be a part of Norwich history, to be able to take some pride in our school.”

Stoddard has been a coach and teacher at Norwich for far longer than these names and records have stood on the wall – and has said that without the help of Matt Wilson, fellow teacher and Girls varsity soccer coach, none of this would have been possible.

“What is amazing is I have been involved with powerlifting for many years. I am very impressed with the numbers these kids can put up. I never would have guessed I would see these numbers,” said Stoddard of the massive amounts of weight being lifted. “I never really had permission, support or the means to, not until (Matt) Wilson was willing to take charge of the writing and artwork. I am nothing short of amazed at some of these kids.”

The following are the top three weights lifted in each major lift for both girls and boys who have passed through NHS – roughly since 2012.

 

Boys Bench Press:

Thomas Riley 435 lbs.

Cole Brightman 405 lbs.

David Bernstein 370 lbs.

 

Boys Squats:

Robert Shepard 550 lbs.

Daniel Conant 535 lbs.

Eric Conant 505 lbs.

 

Boys Dead Lift:

Carter Hubbard 600 lbs.

Robert Shepard 595 lbs.

David Bernstein 585 lbs.