The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE'S an old adage that you should never judge a book by its cover. The 'his story' or 'history' of the new Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson is definitely one of those must articles.

The second son of Oscar and Sylvia Johnson of Fort Fincastle, husband of Monique (nee Pindling) and father of two daughters, Danielle and Grace, brings a wealth of experience from all aspects of life into what he describes as perhaps the most important ministry in the Perry Christie-led Progressive Liberal Party's Government that was recently sworn in at Government House.

The holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Podiatric Medicine, University of Westminister, Masters of Psychology and Clinical Psychoanalysis, London, England, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and the Commonwealth Fellowship for Foot and Ankle Orthopedics and Podiatric Medicine, sat down with The Tribune last week to unveil his untold story.

Today, in the first of a series of articles, Dr Johnson, who began his education at Queen's College and then studied Basic Medical Studies at John Abbot College in Montreal, Canada, said he's the beneficiary of things that his forefathers did for 25-30 years.

"I'm here because someone believed that I could do it," he said. "For a little small black boy running around in Fort Fincastle, ain't no one believed that I could do it. But someone took an interest and said 'you know what, this boy probably could' and they told me that and I believed I probably could and I tried it.

"I failed a couple of times but I won a couple of times and I kept going. Let's just say I just keep getting up and trying again and then I found out consistently that I could be successful and that was because someone believed in me."

Dr Johnson, the Member of Parliament for Carmichael, said his ministry will be more than just a sporting prowess.

"The Bahamas per capita is a sporting power in the sporting world," he said. "We're a country of just over 350,000 people but we have sports giants in some 15-20 different sporting categories like sailing, tennis, track and field, rugby, golf, football, swimming and basketball."

Eric Gordon, who plays for the New Orleans Hornets in the National Basketball Association, is a nephew of Dr Johnson through his mother Denise Williams. Karl McCartney, who plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in Canada, is another nephew of Dr Johnson through his mother Desiree Williams.

Dr Johnson, who himself played college level varsity soccer, track and field, football and rugby, had the opportunity to excel at the international level but he chose to pursue his educational pursuits.

"I am here, sent by the Prime Minister, to make sure that the magnificent story of trial to triumph, a Bahamian story, is etched in the minds of the Bahamian public and burned on their hearts," said Dr Johnson, who said he was fascinated by the account of Pauline Davis-Thompson who could easily have a movie documenting her successes.

"The story is for us not to forget where we come from but how far we can go. I am a part of that story in many, many ways. I come from a family from Cat Island where my father was an orphan at the age of six and only had a grade seven education but he rose to success in his mid-40s and raised six children, who all went to university and got degrees, although neither of my parents did."

Dr Johnson's story includes pitching in the junior baseball league with the Reef Restaurant baseball team, coached by Allan Jackson, a former commissioner of the Bahamas Baseball Association. He also played soccer with Lionel Haven on the national team, and on the national squash team.

At 46-years-old, Dr Johnson said he's a well-rounded individual who believes in showing Bahamians how they can arrive from just playing sports to achieving the trophy or the medal at the end of the competition and that is what he intends to do through his ministry.

An accomplished musician who can play and has played just about every instrument, Dr Johnson has spent some time as a member of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, having worked through the medical field under Dr Patrick Roberts. He also served on the initial Anti-Doping Commission and he is the founder of Sports Med Bahamas Group.

"Playing is one part. The other part in my role in this ministry is to begin to expose my directors to the business of sport," he said. "Now the excitement begins because my mandate as a part and as a government is to create jobs, get youths excited and employed and reduce crime.

"That's our triple threat. The business of sports can do all three of those things. This is where the linkage comes in with the Ministry of Tourism, Education, Health, National Service, National Security and Urban Renewal. You will now have sports teams connected with Urban Renewal so you have guys playing against each other."

Dr Johnson said there is a master plan for the sports complex at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Center and his government intends make it the envy of the region as they make money through the various programmes that will be held there, including the initial staging of the IAAF World Relays over a three-year span from 2013-2015.

"You're looking at a major thrust economically," Dr Johnson said. "I know a lot of sports and I am a sportsman and I am very competitive so I want to make sure that this ministry caters to more than just the one or two dominant sports that we have."

And, in going forward, Dr Johnson said he intends to define a number of things such as the national sport and the reintroduction of the Bahamas Games. But he said his ministry has to brace itself for the many challenges ahead of it, including the hosting of the Carifta Games in the new Thomas A Robinson Stadium next year.

In another edition, Dr Johnson will issue his prescriptions for the solutions to the various sporting woes plaguing our country.