Coming Together as a Brotherhood
Bynum and staff starts to set standard for football team
Mike Brohard
The setting is what Shelton Bynum has been working toward.
Energy at a high. The music is pumping through the weight room, with a background of a metronome, blending into the hip-hop beat as an extra aid to give them a rhythm to count instead of relying on numbers in their head.
Players move between stations, encouraging others. Bynum’s staff is doing the same, correcting certain techniques as they flow through the session. Then it stops. Direction is given and the next lift is set in motion.
There is synergy, which is what Colorado State’s football team has been building to create.
“We preach a lot on action over words. You can say a lot of things, you can say a lot of great things, but if you don't put the actions behind it, it doesn't mean anything,” linebacker Oumar Diamonde said. “So, we always preach action over words and just being out there backing up your words.
“That's just how our motive always is.”
This is always how college football seasons have begun, just to a higher degree these days. There were always returners and newcomers. Under the new system, often there are fewer of the former, more of the latter. The variable in Fort Collins is the coaching change, bringing in a blend of coaches and players from Connecticut.
Every first day there is always a natural touch of them and us, be those players transfers from any school or the freshmen – of which the Rams have nearly 20 already on campus – feeling out the process of blending.
By the end of the first day, Bynum could already see boundaries erased and commonality developing.
“Surprisingly, it was a quick transition. Again, our whole mentality, we come in, we're going to set the standard and the expectation, we're going to communicate it very clearly, and we're going to hold them accountable for it,” Bynum said. “So, right off the bat, we had to nip it in the bud and set we're trying to establish a new culture. Anything that was done in the past doesn't matter anymore. Whether it was our guys that came with us, or the guys that were here because we know we're starting with a blank slate. We're in a situation where we have 60 new guys. So essentially, we had a brand new team.
“So, it was early on, again, just setting, communicating, and then holding them accountable to it. And that's even holding ourselves accountable. If we mess up, we own it, so that they can see that from the top down, they're willing to be held accountable and own their mistakes, they're willing to be held accountable and own their mistakes, and they're willing to allow us to hold them accountable.”
It was a process Bynum wasn’t even in charge of at first – Tyson Brown was brought in at the outset – but when Brown departed, coach Jim Mora knew in an instant Bynum was the right choice. Someone he’s worked with for the past four years, a man who is intense and invested and shares a vision which no longer really has to be communicated.
Now Bynum is the director of football strength and conditioning, and the matter at hand is clear, which is to take them and us and create the “we” which was on display this past Wednesday. He and his staff are in charge of creating the desired culture and setting the standard, one put in place by three demanding pillars.
“We don't do a lot of rules here. We do expectations and standards,” Bynum said. “I tell the guys bring me a great attitude, bring me great effort, bring me great intent, and everything else we can work with. Once they start figuring out what we're requiring of them, what we're asking them to do, as long as they've got the intent, the effort, and a great attitude to learn it, the execution will get there.
“The standard is the standard, again. Great attitude, great intent, great effort and energy, and then great execution. We always demand the execution piece of it from them. But, obviously, there's a learning curve.”
Now they're comfortable in it. Now start to thrive in it. Show that personality. Challenge somebody man-to-man. Crack a joke. Enjoy being here.Shelton Bynum
To be able to push a player to get the most out of themselves, Bynum knows he has to first build a relationship, one which will lead to trust. The formula is no different than adding another plate to a bar to increase the max potential.
Through actions and communication, those started to develop from the start, even for those new to the system and the messaging. A building requires a base, one Phillip Ocon said is firm.
“They've done a really, really good job just introducing themselves and making themselves known as, ‘hey, we're going to be in the weight room, you guys want to get extra work in, come in and see us. They also do a great job of just letting us know the standard is not changing,” Ocon said. “We are keeping the standard no matter how hard the work gets, no matter how hard things get. The standard is the standard. When you're told that day one, there's no deviation from that. You're sticking to that 100 percent finish through the line, all those little things that we focus on really, really hard, that never changes.
“The word we use a lot is foundation. You know, when you're going to buy a new house, you're checking out the foundation. You've got to make sure that everything with the foundation is correct. That's what we're building right now. We're building a foundation where you can't be 11 games in and try to get in shape then. We're getting in shape now. We're going to stay in shape until that 11th game, that 12th game. So that's what this is. This is the foundation and it's what we're going to build off of for the rest of the year.”
Bynum has seen the “we” start to formulate. It shows in the way the players stick to the details during early morning runs. The way they interact in the weight room, encouraging and holding each other accountable.
It’s also in the way they are having more fun. Dancing and singing to the music between sets. The way they encourage each other, or in the moments they ask one another for advice. The work is supposed to be fun, and within the “we,” there is more than enough room for “me.”
Personalities are starting to come out in full force, which is exactly what Bynum wants. Be yourself and show it to others. He does when he has a momentary slip of direction going into a drill, chuckling to himself and then doing 10 up-downs as his penance. Cody Swanson struts from section to section, correcting form. Then he watches. Then he celebrates with the player when he does it right.
“I love it. We need the personality. We don't want a bunch of robots,” Bynum said. “We don't want a bunch of yes guys. The personality is what makes you you. Once you understand, they already know what we expect, what we're asking them to do.
“Now they're comfortable in it. Now start to thrive in it. Show that personality. Challenge somebody man-to-man. Crack a joke. Enjoy being here. We've got to have energy to be in here and do what we've got to do. If you come in dreading it, you're not going to get the most out of it. When they come in with that energy, I know I'm going to be able to push them a little bit further every day.”
Through the sessions, another necessary component is being developed: Leadership. In position rooms. Within the classes. Among units, and much of it is being encouraged in the formation of the Super Games teams.
Groups of around 10, put together to keep each other in line. To help one another focus on the details which matter, the ones which lead to a brotherhood knowing there are pockets of people who once fit somewhere else at the start.
“Everyone's taking the role of the leadership and being able to push each other, and that's a great thing for a team that wants to go to a national championship,” Diamonde said. “Everyone can be a leader here. Everyone can push each other, no matter if you're a freshman or a veteran. We always want those guys to push each other.”
What they all hold true is what is happening now is imperative. The weeks of winter training are crucial to bring together a team which is ready to step on the field in the spring and start learning systems, perfecting technique, understanding situations in a game. Not one of the three phases works correctly without unity and fluidity of resolve.
Put it all in motion, a team can play connected.
“When you're doing the reps, it's hard, especially if you feel like someone's breathing down your neck. But take a step back and it's invaluable,” Ocon said. “You know these relationships we're building with our coaches, making some inside jokes here and there, you learn everyone's name. It's really invaluable that we're out there in the cold, and they're out there with us getting us right, making sure we finish through the line. You know, they show that they're committed to this just as much as we are.”
Call it culture. Refer to it as the standard. Bynum views it as the best part of his day.
Support Colorado State Athletics: Tickets | Ram Club | CSU NIL Marketplace