Johnson Learned to Take Track Easy

In an era of high-pressure recruiting and publicity-driven athletes, Walter Johnson presents a study in contrast. Virtually unheralded in high school, Johnson has been a two-year starter on the football team, captain of the track team, and, unlike many athletes, has learned to "relax, just take it easy."

The Most of the Best

"I'm soft-spoken by nature, more so than most other people." he says. "Not too many things move me to the point of taking drastic action. I'm quite willing to accept things as they come and make the most of it." Johnson's 'ack of impassioned ego nearly swayed him to preclude the possibility of attending Harvard after graduation from high school. A native of Framingham, he had pretty much settled upon the University of Massachusetts as his choice.

"I'd been out to visit the school and enjoyed the people I met there. As for Harvard. I really couldn't be sure I could handle the academic pressure, nor some of the people who attend there," he admitted.

City Lights

Still, the image of Harvard- "I'm really very impressionable, you know" -and the prospect of a Harvard education led Johnson to forsake the pastoral setting of Amherst and come to Cambridge.

At Harvard, Johnson concedes that he has found it difficult to adapt to the vicissitudes of student politics. "People consider me apathetic," he claims, "but I've tried to understand what aims people are trying to achieve. Still, I really don't see the reasoning behind most of it."

Johnson's athletic exploits have more than vindicated his thinking. As a freshman, he went out for the football team, felt he wasn't good enough to play, then quit. After sitting out the sophomore campaign, he decided to give the sport another chance. He worked himself into a starting defensive back position in his junior year, and in his final season he gained the reputation of one of the finest safeties in the Ivy League.

Although Johnson asserts himself well on the gridiron, he feels his real abilities lie in track. "There are football players and there are those who play football." he said. "I consider myself one of the latter. Track is my first love."

Over the past three seasons Johnson has compiled a list of track feats that would make any cinder buff proud. He holds the Bubble record in the 60-yard high hurdles with a time of 7.4 seconds. In the long jump, he has consistently earned team points in all dual meets, recording a 22'5 3/4" personal best last year.

Although Johnson has continued to be a mainstay in the Crimson scoring attack, he feels disappointed in his performance this indoor season. "I was a lot more relaxed running last year and consequently won more events," he said. "This year I feel more pressure to succeed."

Surely the self-imposed pressure this year derives from his role as team captain. "The captaincy here is different from anywhere else I played. If I perform poorly or don't win an event I should have won, I feel that I have let the rest of the fellows down," he said.

With football in the fall and indoor track for the rest of the year, most of Johnson's spare time is obviously spent in sports. "I've sometimes asked myself if I should be doing something more beneficial," he said. "But I enjoy sports, and if you enjoy something you do it."

Johnson, an English major, is hoping to attend Harvard Ed School upon graduation. After that? "I'd like to go into teaching English on the secondary level," he said. "The teachers I had in high school made a great impression on me. Then again, the pace is a little slower, you can relax a little...."