AIA Director of Media Services Seth Polansky contributed to this feature.

We’ve all heard the phrase “it takes a village” when referring to all those who empower a person to greatness. In the case of Prince Amukamara, that truly is the case.

Amukamara was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame on Monday surrounded by 59 of his closest friends, family, coaches, teachers and supporters. It is the biggest contingent an NFHS Hall of Fame inductee has ever brought to the ceremony. They came from all over the country and couldn’t contain their excitement.

“Having my family with me and my community with me helped get me through a lot of circumstances,” Amukamara said. “Before the NFL, I never had any injuries. After I got to the NFL, I sustained a lot of injuries. Having my family and my community helped me through all that.”

Amukamara was one of the greatest three-sport big school athletes in Arizona high school history. Just as impressive is his hall of fame character.

The 35-year-old continues to give back to his alma mater in a blue collar community in west Phoenix and elsewhere. Amukamara has been a steward of servant leadership.

His passion for giving was instilled by his parents, who told Amukamara and his sisters to give back any chance they get since they’ve received so much after they immigrated from Nigeria.

In the athletic realm, in his senior year, Amukamara was named the Football Player of the Year by The Arizona Republic. He beat out future pros Cameron Jordan (14-year NFL pro, 8-time Pro Bowler) of Chandler and Everson Griffen (12-year pro, 4-time Pro Bowler) of Agua Fria for the coveted award.

In basketball, where he played key roles in Apollo’s three-year title reign (2005-07), Amukamara could’ve played at a mid-level Division I school, his high school basketball coach Mark Nold said. (Nold also trained NBA champion Richard Jefferson.)

“Even though football was my best sport, basketball was my first love," Amukamara noted. "I saw football as the ultimate team game. You can be good in two phases of the three and still don’t win. Football, because there’s many positions I was able to excel at, I was able to choose the right one in cornerback, and that did well for me.”

Amukamara took his acceleration and competitiveness to the track, where he capped his stellar prep career as a 100- and 200-meter state champ. His 100 championship winning time of 10.78 is just off the current Arizona Interscholastic Association state record of 10.33. The AIA’s 200 state record is 20.22, which Olympic bronze medalist Dwayne Evans recorded at the Olympic trials when he was 17 in 1976. Amukamara’s 200 championship time was 21.91.

Not bad for an athlete who didn’t specialize in either of the sports he excelled in. No other AIA big conference school (4A-6A) athlete has accomplished that trifecta (football player of the year, basketball and track champ) in a single year since Amukamara graduated in 2007.

Despite the demands of each sport and sacrifices he made to succeed, Amukamara still made sure to give back to his campus in other ways.

He served on Apollo High’s student council, becoming a bridge between the different ethnic groups on campus he grew up with in Glendale. He also took on a leadership role at his school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.

Amukamara said that’s where he forged a relationship with Jesus. He has been very open about being abstinent until he married and not drinking alcohol to this day.

Even during his NFL days, he always leaned on his faith to guide him.

“Your identity isn’t what you do,” he said. “It’s what God says. I was able to be in my right mind and make the right decisions.”

One of the best decisions he’s made recently was creating a YouTube channel to help educate kids about the importance of eating right and staying active. (https://www.youtube.com/@MrAadventures)

In his videos, he plays the role of Mr. A, a down-to-earth, Disney-type character. After watching the videos, you would have never guessed that Amukamara tackled players professionally for 11 years.

But he did, and he was one of the best to ever do it in Arizona.