Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Joe Barber

Steve Virgen

There doesn’t seem to be a lot to Joe Barber, a Corona del Mar High

senior who appears to be an Ordinary Joe. He enjoys steak and potatoes

and when he’s standing among his counterparts he looks more like their

younger brother than an actual varsity star. Truth is, there is much more

to Joe Barber than steak and potatoes, or the shot put and discus.

He’s made a reversal of fortune from ditching a chance to be a

headliner on the football field to making the most of what can be

described as the grunt work of track and field.

“I played football the last three years and I didn’t like what I was

doing very much,” said Barber, a former quarterback for the Sea Kings. “I

stopped playing and decided that I needed to do something else. I didn’t

play football this year and I went straight to the training.”

Barber’s rigorous, religious-like offseason training, that started in

June, has paid off. He’s the Sea Kings’ top thrower this season. In CdM’s

first two meets, he has won the shot put and discus and has earned

personal bests, thus receiving Daily Pilot of the Week honors.

“He’s quite a bit smaller than your prototypic thrower, but he’s got a

lot of strength,” CdM throwing coach Steve Tartaglini said. “He has a lot

of speed, quickness and excellent technique that definitely pulls him

through and makes up for the lack of size.”

Barber threw 49-8 1/2 in the shot Wednesday, 4-7 more than what he

threw the week before. He also went 143-7 in the discus, 10-1 more than

what he threw the week before. His personal bests Wednesday came against

his Back Bay rivals and Marina in a tri-meet at CdM. Barber’s performance

also displayed, not only the product of his training, but the testing of

his mind.

Throughout the past year, Tartaglini has dealt Barber with mental

tests, or better known as mind games.

“Steve did a real good job of pushing me around and making me almost

go crazy out here,” Barber said Wednesday at CdM. “He played games with

me so I would learn lessons. I have to keep learning.”

Apparently, there’s not much more to learn.

“He did very well,” Tartaglini said of Barber’s results in the mind

games. “Once he realized what was going on he did very well. This sport

is just as much mental as it is physical. You can tell in the numbers

from last week to this week, how mentally strong he is. He’s matured a

lot. He has shown a great deal of dedication to the sport this year. I

know that he’s been training year-round, getting ready for the season.

He’s come a long way since last year. He was kind of lacking last year,

but he was on the verge and now he’s gotten over that hump.”

Tartaglini’s coaching method and impact on Barber has been positive

for the CdM senior. Barber said his coach is like an older brother. After

all, it was Tartaglini who consistently reminded Barber he would have to

mature and increase strength, especially because of the departure of

Taumata Grey, last year’s top thrower for the Sea Kings.

“I knew I had to step up,” said Barber, who has enjoyed his decision

to concentrate solely on the shot and discus. “It was important to me to

try harder. I went to football games and cheered. I was happy for them.

There were regrets once in a while. But it really wasn’t a big deal. I

knew I made a sound decision and there’s no looking back, so now I have

to give it all I’ve got.”

Barber said he wants to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall

and compete on its track and field team. He said playing football is a

longshot.