On the field, Ronde Barber #20 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a star cornerback and 2003 Super Bowl champion. Off the field, Barber is active in many local charities in the Bay area, while at the same time writes children’s books with his twin brother, Tiki.
The Barber brothers were approached by Paula Wiseman at Simon and Schuster to fill the publishing void of books targeted to young boys.
Barber’s involvement with Tampa Reads, a local vocabulary building program, and a Verizon Literacy Champion helped convince him to become an author.
As kids, growing up in Roanoke, VA, Ronde and Tiki began playing team sports at a young age, namely football. Through their real life experiences the series of three children’s books, now includes a fourth due out this fall, geared towards tweens.
“The new book is called Kickoff,” said Barber. “It’s about the transition to junior high from elementary school and all the issues that go along with getting a little older, like dealing with seniority and increased competition.”
Metro caught up with Barber after he filmed a public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness. Barber is involved with other charities including Chair Scholars, a local charity that provides scholarships for disabled students and next April he will host the 8th Annual Pocket Full of Miracles Golf Classic for Diabetic Charitable Services.
Metro: What do you feel is the importance of reading at a young age?
Barber: Many things really, like developing a strong vocabulary and opening young imaginations. It also helps foster a love for reading that hopefully lasts a lifetime.
M: What do you read to your kids?
B: Well, of course, I read them our books--but really, we try to read them books that will help with their early learning. Chica, Chica, Boom Boom is a favorite around our house.
M: What types of books did you read growing up?
B: All types really. I’ve always been into fiction, especially science fiction and that has stayed with me to this day.
M: What are you reading right now?
B: I have literally three books open, John Grisham’s Innocent Man, Barrack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. But as is almost always the case, I’m deep in a science fiction novel. Right now it is Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. It is the 13th novel in the Dune series and I’ve read every single one.
M: How would you describe the Barber brother’s writing process?
B: Tiki and I are no scribes by any means. Our co-author, Bob Burleigh pens the story. Together we all sit down, brain storm ideas based on our experiences growing up and try to find a story that will reflect some of the ideals that Tiki and I feel were important to our childhood.
M: How much of your “real” life comes through in your books?
B: A lot of our interpersonal relationships are very true in the book. We never really were apart from one another unless we absolutely had to be. So when you see us studying together, playing ball together, or just talking together, it is a real indication of our everyday lives growing up. We were definitely competitive, although not so much against each other. It was more of a situation such that if he was doing well at something, I had to be doing just as well, and vice versa. That more than anything else was our motivation. As far as playing together, that was always good because we were such dominate athletes, but if we happened to be on separate teams in a pick up game or on the playground, watch out, because we were certain to argue about something. We both just always wanted to win, and that was a whole lot easier when we were on the same team.
M: How do you feel about being a role model for kids?
B: The term role model is sometimes used too loosely with athletes. Your parent, or parents and family should really be your role models. Athletes obviously have a sphere of influence because of our notoriety, but as we know, celebrity press is not always good. In my opinion, parents need to be able to disseminate the good from the bad; emphasize the good lessons and be able to explain the poor ones. My biggest role model was my mom, still is in fact.
M: In Game Day, the mother says “play proud” is that from real life?
B: That is from real life and to this day she still says it to us prior to every single contest.
M: Where do you and your family like to vacation?
B: Well, we always travel over the 4th of July week and a couple more times when the girls don’t have school. This year we went to Kiawah Island (near Charleston, SC) with a couple of friends and their families.
M: Where do you and fellow players go after practice?
B: I don’t do a lot of hanging out with the players because of the crunch time at home. But we do get out every so often and we can end up basically anywhere. I’m a big fan of Circles in South Tampa. And if I’m looking for a steak, it’s usually Flemings.
M: How did you feel about Tiki retiring?
B: Retiring is like anything else in life really. My mom said it best: it’s not really retiring when you’re going on to something else. He is just finishing one chapter in his life, turning the page and starting a next. He was ready and I’m proud of him for what he accomplished as a player and for what challenges he has accepted, and will conquer I’m sure, with his new gig. It’s exciting for our family all over again as he makes this transition.
M: When you retire, do you see yourself coaching or announcing for the NFL?
B: I don’t have any idea what the future holds for me post NFL. In my mind, that time is not now and I don’t really have a need to commit to what’s next, so I haven’t. And I won’t until this opportunity is done, but that doesn’t mean I’m not peaking into some open doors either...
M: In the off season, what do you like to do?
B: I can answer that in one word: GOLF!
