There Are No LBMS Sports Teams

When we think of Lake Braddock sports, we picture gold and purple, the name “Lake Braddock” and the Bruin mascot. This applies to high school and middle school sports… or so one would assume.

During an investigation to find out why some middle school sports had teams and others didn’t, Bill Hughes, assistant director of student activities, revealed that Lake Braddock Secondary School does not actually sponsor any of the middle school sports teams that bear its name.

John Giannelli, who coached the rising freshman girls team last season, explained how the team came to be.
“Fairfax [High School] sets up a league of rising freshmen teams that play basketball,” he said.

“They take kids from different schools and make teams to compete with the others. These teams are comprised of only students from that particular school, who want to have a future in basketball.”

Giannelli also used to coach LB’s varsity girls basketball team.

You may have heard middle school students talking about the LB basketball team, but this team is actually run by Fairfax High School using Lake Braddock’s name, mascot and colors.

An ice hockey team that has Lake Braddock’s name, mascot and colors is also not actually affiliated with LBSS. Instead it is a neighborhood team that’s run independently from the school system.
According to Hughes, ice hockey “is specifically prohibited in all of FCPS schools.”

Sandra Hunter, administrative assistant for student activities said, “Lake Braddock does not sponsor any middle school sports,” so most students that go to the games, think they are representing LB, when it really relates to our school in name only.

Having teams organized by Fairfax HS and neighborhood organizations that use Lake Braddock imagery sounds like it might cause confusion, but the student activities office isn’t too concerned.

The name Lake Braddock is not just the name of our school, but also a lake, a neighborhood and the general area around here.

Colors are just preference; in other words, we don’t own the colors purple and gold. Neither does LBSS own the Bruins mascot or team name.

Lastly, our logo is in public domain anyway, as long as the team isn’t using the exact logo and causing a problem, there is no need for the office to talk to anyone.

Giannelli explained, “Yes, the team only accepts rising freshmen from Lake Braddock. We do sometimes use Lake Braddock for practices, but play games at Fairfax High School.”