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About a month ago, the 5-foot-10, 246-pound Broussard joined this accomplished squad and probably snickered at the notion of picking up 75 or 100 kilograms. It only took a few lifts and chats with his new teammates for Broussard to realize that lifting 100 kilos is a lot different than snatching 100 pounds.
Don't think, though, that this fazed the Beaufort High junior.
"It's way different than just lifting in the gym, because it's all technique. But I like the challenge of learning something new," Broussard said. "If I put it on the bar, I'm going to do it."
This focus and culture of expected success has primed Broussard and eight other Team Beaufort members for this weekend's Arnold Sports Festival, where they will compete against some of the country's best high-school lifters in the Werk San High School Nationals championship in Columbus, Ohio.
Last year, Jones brought nine of his lifters to the annual three-day event hosted by California governor and the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as a merit-based trip for excellence in the classroom. The group didn't disappoint, bringing home three gold medals, two silver and one bronze in the junior weight divisions.
This time around, however, Jones and his lifters have their eyes on the high-school age team trophy and $3,500 in equipment prize money.
"This is an open competition that's so neat for these guys, because you have hundreds of thousands of spectators that come through during the weekend to see all the events that are going on," Jones said. "All the stars aligned where we had a ton of kids at Beaufort High that were ready to compete as a team, and we'll definitely be one of the more stronger teams going in."
Complementing Broussard's brute strength will be the experience of Johnaithan Morgan, Alex Silon and Stefan Moser, who all competed and placed in at least the top four of their weight class at last year's event.
Also increasing their chances for gold is Beaufort High senior James Washington, who holds the AAU national record in the clean and jerk at 277 pounds and is fresh off taking first in the 69-kilo division at the National Junior Championships in Minnesota.
"We pretty much know what we can do in the school-age events, so here, we're going in blind," Jones said. "We're a young team, but we're going to battle."
With more than 160,000 people expected to be in attendance throughout this weekend festival, nerves could be a factor for this budding yet well-trained group. But as Broussard's out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach demonstrates, Team Beaufort's quick learning curve and rich legacy have proven sufficient in translating results from the confines of the weight room to the demands of competition.
"I've learned that there are gym lifters and there are meet lifters. Gym lifters are real strong, but they can only lift well in the weight room when people aren't looking. Meet lifters can compete under pressure and still lift a lot without messing up," Broussard explained. "We're excited for this weekend and looking to show that we're real meet lifters."
2010 ARNOLD SPORTS FESTIVAL
Werk San High School Nationals Team Challenge, Sunday at Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio
Team Beaufort participants
Seth Andrews - 50 kilograms
Michael Mattis - 56 kg
Cody Martinez - 62 kg
Johnaithan Morgan - 69 kg
James Washington - 69 kg
Lee Carey - 77 kg
Alex Silon - 85 kg
Dalvin Broussard - 105+ kg
Stefan Moser - 105+ kg
