Sandy Landy
TVA Mascot
Why the Palm and the Pine
The two trees on every TVA uniform are not decoration. They are a picture of who we are, where we are planted, and what we are growing our athletes to become.
Our Uniform Tells a Story
When we designed our jersey, we wanted every athlete who pulled it over their head to be reminded of three things: the Word that guides us, the place that shaped us, and the kind of person we want them to become.
Look at the back. Grapevines wrap around the player’s number, and stitched into those vines are nine words: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is literally framing the athlete.
The palm and the pine are the picture we chose for the front. Two trees that should not grow in the same place, planted side by side, flourishing together. That is TVA.
Psalm 92:12-15
The Verse Behind the Crest
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing, To shew that the Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
The two trees on our crest are the two trees in Psalm 92. The palm and the cedar are the picture God uses for a life lived His way: planted in His house, flourishing in His courts, and still bearing fruit when most things have stopped growing.
In our valley, the cedar is our pine. The image is the same. Two strong, evergreen, fruit-bearing trees standing as proof that God is upright and that He is our rock.
Bring Forth Fruit
Psalm 92 says the righteous shall “bring forth fruit.” Galatians names the fruit we are growing our athletes toward.
Galatians 5:22-23
A trophy fades. A scholarship runs out. The fruit of the Spirit grown into a young athlete travels with them into marriage, parenting, work, and every season after volleyball is over.
We want our players to leave TVA with more than a better vertical and a cleaner pass. We want the fruit of the Spirit grown into the way they compete, the way they treat teammates, and the way they carry themselves long after the last whistle.
Planted in Madera
The Two Trees on Highway 99
Just south of Madera, along Highway 99, a Deodar Cedar and a Canary Island Date Palm have stood side by side since the 1920s. The pine, native to the north. The palm, native to the south. Planted together to mark the halfway point of California.
For more than a century, those two trees have welcomed travelers home. They are the landmark of our valley, and they are the landmark of our club.
We train on the same sand. The trees that mark our home gave us our crest, and the Scripture that grew from those trees gave us our purpose. The verse, the landmark, and the calling all meet on one piece of ground, and that ground is ours.
Historic 99: The Pine and the Palm
Read the full history of the landmark and how Historic Highway 99 Association is working to preserve it.
Visit historic99.orgHistory Along US 99: The Palm and the Pine
Watch the short documentary on the two trees and the highway that connected California.
Watch on YouTubeUnique to TVA
Other clubs have a logo. We have a verse, a landmark, and a calling rooted in the very ground we play on.
The palm and the pine are ours because the soil is ours, the Scripture is ours, and the mission is ours. Every uniform tells that story. Every season, we live it out.
Rooted in Madera
From the Landon Sand Courts to the trees on Highway 99, TVA is proud to call this valley home. Come train with us.