Pick a spring afternoon and you'll likely find LeBron Bond in the weight room after classes at Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia.
After Bond leaves the weight room, he heads to the track and field to practice. He will spend the next few hours preparing for the upcoming season, when he will compete in the 100m and 200m races.
Bond ends the night at home, where he catches 300 tennis balls and several footballs.
He used to catch 100 soccer balls every night, but over the past few weeks he has transitioned to tennis balls because of the benefits they offer for hand-eye coordination. Part of the idea came from YouTube and TikTok, where he saw others working on similar training.
Bond has strict rules, especially for a 17-year-old with nearly two months left in his third year.
This is a present for Bond. His future lies nearly 12 hours east in Bloomington, where he plans to spend his college years running routes and scoring touchdowns inside Memorial Stadium.
Bonds, a 4-star receiver according to ESPN, committed to Indiana State football on April 7, about a week removed from the Hoosiers' visit for their fifth spring practice on March 30. He also had offers from the University of Maryland, Boston College, West Virginia University, Syracuse University and several other schools.
The approach was in stark contrast to his thinking when the Hoosiers first offered him a scholarship in February.
“I was just like, 'This is it.'” too far' said Bond. “That was my first thought.”
But he didn't completely write off Indiana.
Bonds began researching new Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and saw his success at James Madison University. He also watched as players and staff moved from Harrisonburg, Va., to Bloomington, following Cininetti.
Cignetti and Shanahan then received a phone call inviting Bond to visit. He said he did so and had a lot of fun watching Indiana quickly differentiate itself from other programs.
“The atmosphere,” Bonds said of why he chose the Hoosiers. “At IU, coach after coach came up to me and showed me love, which never happened at other schools.”
During his visit, Bonds spoke most frequently with offensive skills and position quality control coach Eddie Burke Jr., running backs coach John Miller and assistant director of player personnel Gage Proctor.
As the two people with the most frequent contact with Bonds, Burke and Miller were key factors in his recruitment, along with offensive coordinator and receivers coach Mike Shanahan.
Burke and Miller emphasized to Bonds that he is a top priority for the coaching staff. Shanahan said he likes Bonds and believes his skill set can fit into the Hoosiers' offense.
Still, when Bonds walked into the receiver room at Indiana University with Shanahan, Burke and graduate assistant receivers coach Reid Ryloski, he didn't know what to expect. He left with emotions that ultimately helped shape his decisions.
“Coach Shanahan told the players to tell me where I'm from and what I do,” Bond said. “I felt welcomed. Then I went to practice and the coaches came up to me and talked to me.”
At this point, Bond's mind began to become confused.
His recruitment began before he entered high school, receiving his first scholarship offer from Maryland before the ninth grade. The process accelerated toward the end of my sophomore year and the beginning of my junior year.
But after visiting Bloomington, Bond was convinced. The next weekend she visited another school and after returning to the car, she had a discussion with her parents. It didn't last long.
“We all looked at each other and knew we were coming to Indiana,” Bond said.
There, Bond became a Hoosier and formally announced his intentions. on Xformerly known as Twitter, Sunday 9:08 p.m.
Over the next few days, he saw his brand skyrocket to a level that most 17-year-olds reach.
“It was crazy,” Bond said. “When I opened Twitter, I got a bunch of notifications, my posts, etc. from different sites. I talked to a friend on Google, and he Googled Indiana football. Lots of websites. And I was shown there. That's really big for me.”
Yes, Bonds was named after LeBron James, but his style of playing basketball doesn't reflect that of the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
“I definitely respect him as a person,” Bond said. “But I kind of [Steph] Curry person. I'm an archer. ”
When Bond was young, people often called him LeBron James. That's an example of how others perceive him. The other thing is, he's just a speedster on the football field.
In track and field, Bond ran the 100 meters in 10.7 seconds and the 200 meters in 21.8 seconds on his way to earning All-American honors. On the football field, Bond caught 47 passes for 1,347 yards and 16 touchdowns last season and was named first-team All-Virginia Class 5.
For Bond, who started playing football and track and field at the age of five, his reputation trumps that.
“I was always the fastest on the team,” Bond said. “Growing up, everyone knows I'm fast. People who don't know me know me as a fast guy.”
But Bond believes there's more to his game than that. He mentioned a recent conversation he had with another person in which he named a controversial catch he made. There's also change of direction, yards after the catch, hands, juke and route running, he said.
For Bonds, his story goes beyond his impressive 28.7 yards per catch average last season and is more directly tied to his evening tennis ball sessions.
“A lot of people would say it's my speed, but I think it's my work ethic,” Bond said of the reason for his explosiveness. “People don't see the effort I put in. I think that's going to take me far.”
Bonds, who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 170 pounds, began his football career as a running back. Around the age of 12, his father told him to play receiver, believing it was a better fit for his long-term future.
Now, Bonds is spending his time observing other small receivers who have had success. The two that immediately come to mind are Tank Dell of the Houston Texans and Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts. His top favorites were Percy Harvin and Tavon Austin, both of whom compiled extensive highlight reels with their explosive playmaking abilities.
Bonds hopes to do the same in Bloomington, inspired by his big-play potential and evolving nuance.
When Bonds' name echoes throughout Memorial Stadium in the fall of 2025, basketball may be the first sport that comes to mind for fans, but Bonds' heart belongs to the gridiron.
“I just love football,” Bond said.
