Former Corona Centennial star Camryn Bynum giving

For youngsters dreaming of enjoying in the NFL, former Corona Centennial high defensive back Camryn Bynum has first-hand data of what it takes. It entails more than a star rating or posting videos on social media.

“It’s a simple formula to make it to where you want to go,” said Bynum, who just lately signed a $60-million contract with the Indianapolis Colts and will likely be holding a youth camp at his alma mater on May 23.

“It’s just hard to stay on the right track and do every single thing to the best of your ability and consistently do everything the right way,” he said. “You play a few good years of high school ball, you’ll get a chance to play college ball. If you become a starter, maybe one or two years and play well enough, you’ll get a chance at the league, whether you get drafted in the first round, like everybody wants to, or you you’re an undrafted free agent. If you get your foot in the door, there’s hundreds of stories about people getting in.”

Bynum says there’s a big sacrifice that many youngsters are unwilling to settle for. It’s called avoiding distractions at all prices. At least it labored for him. He didn’t start on varsity until his junior yr. He turned a four-year starter at Cal, was a fourth-round draft choose of the Vikings, who immediately told him he’s switching from cornerback to security. He was prepared for something.

“I think the best way to reach the point where you want to go is to stay distraction free,” he said. “Stay working towards that goal and don’t let anything come in between. That’s been the biggest part of my journey, my faith, and being able to just trust that God will put me exactly where I need to be, but also putting in the work myself knowing that if I want to play college ball, I need to keep my grades up in high school, stay away from all the distractions, the parties, the drinking, the drugs, like a lot of people unfortunately fall into.”

His first major take a look at was dealing with adversity. He began on JSerra’s freshman staff, then transferred back home to Centennial. He said he was fifth string on the JV staff. “I was literally not playing,” he said. He gave critical consideration to leaving. But Centennial coach Matt Logan and others made it clear he had to earn his enjoying time.

“Coach Logan, he’s like, ‘No, you gotta work. You gotta work, figure it out and grind. You’re good. You’re plenty good enough, but you have to earn your spot.’ And I remember a few other coaches telling me, ‘It’s all up to you, if you want to put the work in and you want to compete, This is a competitive program, you got to figure out how to earn your playing time.’”

Bynum went to a non-public coach and began training morning and night time. He turned stronger, sooner and more assured. As a junior, he turned a standout. He still makes use of that same non-public coach, Jordan Brown, in his training.

Bynum, born to a Filipino mom, now lives in the offseason with his Filipino spouse and younger daughter on the outskirts of Manila.

Asked if Manila site visitors is worse than Los Angeles site visitors, he said, “They’re both pretty bad. They’re just bad in different ways.”

His first youth camp will help raise funds for his basis that is supporting causes such as instructing flag soccer in the Philippines. The camp will likely be for youth and high school-age gamers and present a vehicle for publicity along with soccer development.

“We want it to be a learning environment and a competitive environment to help kids get recruited and be seen more,” Bynum said.

Just bear in mind the trail is simple but the highway blocks are many to overcome.