For us, being a "Rhino" has a much deeper meaning than just a team mascot.  Here's a quick summary explaining "why the rhinos?".

2 facts: Rhinos cannot see beyond 30 feet. Rhinos can run between 30-40mph.

Those 2 facts together make no sense! Could you imagine driving 40 mph in your car and not seeing 30 feet ahead of you?

But what makes the rhino special is that he will NOT run at top speed alone. A pack of rhinos is called a "crash" - because when they get together, they run their hardest, without any concern for what lies ahead. They know that, together, they can run through anything.

What we are trying to do through our BVSA Academies at times seems impossible. Our hope is to lead young men to Christ, breaking generational chains of lostness and destruction.  For many of them, ideas such as grace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and hope simply don't exist because they've never heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we spend the years ahead digging into tough communities and attempting to share the gospel and teach the Bible to young men, they will need each other. That's where the rhino concept of running together comes in.

For us at BVSA, we refer to our closest friends - the ones we run through life with - as our "Rhino Crash."  As we abide in God's Word, we encourage one another, challenge, push, and convict one another.  Sometimes we call out one another's sin.  We love one another deeply. We share life together and we carry one another's burdens.  Our Rhino Crash is invaluable.

Our prayer is that the boys that come through a BVSA Academy will form their own rhino crash - running hard for Christ, growing together in their faith, and leaning on one another as they face whatever lies ahead.