The Bells, a military family, moved three times before Madi reached high school. The journey eventually sent them to Northern Virginia and allowed her to attend Lake Braddock, which finished first in the Patriot district final Wednesday to advance to the Class 6C region final on Monday.

Bell has blossomed into perhaps the area’s top gymnast. Accompanied by other stars and Coach Michael Cooper, who led the Bruins to five championships in the 1990s, they’ve reestablished themselves as a perennial gymnastics power. They know how close they are to becoming the first Class 6 program to win three consecutive championships since Cooper and Lake Braddock won each year from 1995 to 1999.

“There’s a lot of pressure, I guess, on us right now,” junior Maggie Suson said. “It would feel like our hard work has paid off.”

Bell learned about Lake Braddock while in middle school, shortly after her family’s third and latest move. Through a friend already on the team, she met Cooper and the program he was building.

Cooper has coached gymnastics for more than 30 years. He started with Lake Braddock’s boys’ team, which no longer exists, in the 1980s. He also spent time at West Springfield, Oakton and Woodson before and after coaching Lake Braddock’s girls team as well as various clubs in the area.

He was close to retiring in 2017, but the Bruins needed a coach to give their program a jolt. They called a familiar figure.

“[I had to] rebuild a little bit,” Cooper said. “Lake Braddock’s never had a losing team, but we were not in the top of the district. We were middle of the pack.”

Knowing most of the talent stayed on the club side, Cooper sought to establish relationships within the community — the area’s middle schools and club gyms — to make high school gymnastics desirable.

That’s how Cooper met Bell. From Newport News, her family moved to Fort Belvoir then Killeen, Tex., and back to Virginia. She was competing only for clubs when she was entering high school, but she was eager to join a program on the rise.

“She wanted to be a part of the winning tradition,” said Madi’s mother, Shawn. “ ‘They’ve won states before, Shawn recalled Madi saying, “ ‘I would love to help them win states again.’ ”

Suson, a fellow Lake Braddock junior who trains at the same club gym with Bell, had a similar arrival. Her older sister competed for Cooper, and Suson helped set up for practices and meets while in middle school.

The Bruins won their first state championship in more than two decades during Bell and Suson’s freshman year in 2022. That team boasted more experienced gymnasts two could learn from. Then in their sophomore seasons, Bell and Suson stepped into larger roles and guided Lake Braddock to its second consecutive state title.

Suson won the individual title on bars and Bell took the individual crown in all-around.

“In the past, we had a lot of older girls that could tell us what to look forward to and what to expect,” Suson said. “Now, we’re leading people and trying to set as best of an example as we can.”

Club is still a large part of their schedules. Both gymnasts train at Capital Gymnastics Training Center in Burke four days per week and practice with Lake Braddock on Wednesdays.

Cooper, who knows the toll rigorous schedules can take on gymnasts, carefully crafts practice routines accordingly. That allows Bell, Suson and the team’s other gymnasts who split their time to remain fresh over a long season; some spend more than 20 hours per week in a gym.

“He understands injuries, when you need to take it easy,” Bell said.

Lake Braddock’s depth extends beyond Bell and Suson. Abby Parish finished fourth in all-around at states last year as a freshman. Juniors Julia Arnold and Sofia Orphanos round out a daunting top five.

They have the Bruins, who just completed their third straight undefeated regular season, well positioned heading into the most important meets of the year and have restored Lake Braddock as Virginia’s best.

“I like winning,” Bell said. “People already think two is impressive.”