Many years ago my family made a decision to buy a second home on an island where we could become a part of the community. We settled on the Island of Abaco in the Bahamas. One of the young men we befriended was Rocky Jean Louis. He is a Haitian immigrant in the Bahamas who happens to be a track star. On the last day of one of our visits a few years ago, Rocky walked two miles to our home to bring us about 20 of his gold medals he had won from various track meets. He told us he wanted to give us a gift, something of value because he considered us to be family. The only thing of value he had was his gold medals. We knew he was into track but we didn’t know at what level. He explained how he wants to represent the Bahamas in the Olympics.

Rocky told us he would be moving to Moore’s Island away from his family and friends to attend High School and train with Pastor Williams. That would give him the best chance to accomplish his goal. I decided to research what little information there was about Moore’s Island. It is a tiny island of about 200 people off the coast of the Island of Abaco. Pastor Williams brings young athletes like Rocky who are trying to utilize track and education to prepare for better opportunities in this world. Based on that information alone it sounds like a feel-good story that is worth telling. As you dig deeper you begin to understand what an incredible journey these young athletes take with Pastor Williams. They are held to a high academic standard and they train to compete with world class athletes. They travel by dingy to other islands to run in track meets. They have no funding. They have no track or modern training equipment. They run in the sand and water. They pull tires with chains. They have produced the 200m and 800m Bahamian National Champions. 

"Rock and a Hard Place" (Documentary) is currently being submitted to film festivals for the upcoming year.