Brian Jordan, the versatile former star for both the Atlanta Falcons and Braves, branched out in his retirement to write children’s books. He recently published “Overcoming the Fear of the Baseball,” available at Barnes & Noble or through www.brianjordanfoundation.com.
So many young kids who start baseball after playing T-ball get hit with the baseball and never want to play again. It happened to me. I got hit in the face when I was young.
Yes, I was scared. But by trying again, I was successful and went on to play in the major leagues.
You have to go out and try again. I don’t care what your fear is, you’ve got to face it. That’s the gist of my book: Start when you’re young to dream big and give yourself hope.
My love for books started with my mom, Betty Jordan. I grew up watching her pour her heart and soul into teaching kids with special needs at my high school in Baltimore.
I knew one day I would definitely give back to kids. I started my foundation to reach out to underprivileged kids with fitness and literacy.
My books are geared to elementary school kids. It’s a positive message and I don’t care what age you are.
I have two more books coming out later this year. Right now I’m trying to find the right illustrators for them.
“The Bully Protector” comes from when I was a kid and disliked bullies. I protected the bookworms. (In the book I call them smart kids.) I picked them to play on my teams. I learned from them how to study and take tests.
“Lone Star” is about my relationship with my daughter Kenley, who just turned 10. She is the tigress in the book. I’m both the tigress’ father and the lion who shows her the way. I teach her to be independent and provide nurturing.
Diversifying in sports helped my writing. Football was my favorite because of the camaraderie and relying on each other to be successful. Baseball is more defined by individual numbers. Writing books allows me to share the importance of teamwork, to teach kids how to get along and help one another.
I can’t write a book without it just popping into my head. I wrote my first book, “I Told You I Can Play,” in about an hour after I got up at 4 a.m. one morning. I wrote “Lone Star” on a plane, after we hit an air pocket and I couldn’t sleep.
I read it to Kenley and my son Kaleb, who is 8. Kenley didn’t want it to end. She wanted to write a new ending. I told her we should talk about the sequel and she agreed.
-- Reported by Michelle Hiskey
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