Davis Grows Into A National Competitor
3/26/2017 6:22:00 PM | Track
The thrower is quickly sealing his status as one the Wolfpack's elite athletes
RALEIGH, N.C. – Over the course of Joshua Davis' throwing career at NC State, everything about his life has become bigger.
When NC State throwing coach Tom Wood first saw Davis, he saw a raw, unpolished talent. Wood estimates that Davis, now a redshirt sophomore, weighed about 100 pounds less than he does now.
"I try to find athletes and then I don't really have an idea about what they'll be good at when I get them, so we do everything until we find one or two events that I'll think they'll be college athletes at," Wood said. "I thought he looked pretty explosive and I thought 'I'd like to have him on my team.'"
Wood brought Davis to Raleigh and gave him a year off to try a variety of events. He found his niche in hammer, weight and discus throwing.
Davis called redshirting his freshman year "the smartest thing" he could've done and said it was "instrumental" in his development.
After taking a year to craft his skill, Davis, who had never been on a plane before, was traveling across the country, rising up the national ranks. From the likes of the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas and the ACC Indoor Championships in Boston, Ma., his college experience has been far different than the one he had growing up in his hometown of Pelham, N.C., which has a population of less than 4,000.
"My favorite place is definitely Boston. I was new to that metropolitan feel," Davis said. "It was all new coming from a rural area where everything was mostly cows and there were two stoplights."
Davis' humble beginnings have become a major source of fuel for his competitive fire. His high school was much smaller and had far less resources that the 4A high schools most of his teammates and competitors went to.
"I already knew I was coming in as an underdog, so I'm grateful to the fact I came from a small town," he said. "Being the underdog motivates me more because it means I have everything to prove."
As a redshirt sophomore, Davis wasn't even supposed to make the indoor national meet after finishing one spot from qualifying; however, during the week leading up to the competition, another participant had to withdraw and Davis booked a last-second flight to compete. This year, Davis entered as the No. 13 seed out of 16 participants.
Yet again he relished the underdog the role, finishing fifth on college indoor track's biggest stage, setting a weight throw school record and earning First Team All-American honors.
"I was the only guy from our team that went (to nationals) and that was more motivation, pressure really, for me to do well," Davis said. "I wanted to represent our team and our coach and our squad. Me and coach were overjoyed; it was huge for us."
With two outdoor seasons and one indoor season remaining, Davis has yet to even hit his prime. He already owns two school records, but he wants to continue to break more and improve upon his personal bests.
"I want to keep getting better," he said. "My goal when I first got here was to get a record in something. I didn't know what it would be, but I got hammer and weight and I want to take it so high it'll be another 15 years until it's broken again."
It's unlikely his coach would be surprised if those goals are accomplished.
"He works really hard and he wants to be good," Wood said.
When NC State throwing coach Tom Wood first saw Davis, he saw a raw, unpolished talent. Wood estimates that Davis, now a redshirt sophomore, weighed about 100 pounds less than he does now.
"I try to find athletes and then I don't really have an idea about what they'll be good at when I get them, so we do everything until we find one or two events that I'll think they'll be college athletes at," Wood said. "I thought he looked pretty explosive and I thought 'I'd like to have him on my team.'"
Wood brought Davis to Raleigh and gave him a year off to try a variety of events. He found his niche in hammer, weight and discus throwing.
Davis called redshirting his freshman year "the smartest thing" he could've done and said it was "instrumental" in his development.
After taking a year to craft his skill, Davis, who had never been on a plane before, was traveling across the country, rising up the national ranks. From the likes of the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas and the ACC Indoor Championships in Boston, Ma., his college experience has been far different than the one he had growing up in his hometown of Pelham, N.C., which has a population of less than 4,000.
"My favorite place is definitely Boston. I was new to that metropolitan feel," Davis said. "It was all new coming from a rural area where everything was mostly cows and there were two stoplights."
Davis' humble beginnings have become a major source of fuel for his competitive fire. His high school was much smaller and had far less resources that the 4A high schools most of his teammates and competitors went to.
"I already knew I was coming in as an underdog, so I'm grateful to the fact I came from a small town," he said. "Being the underdog motivates me more because it means I have everything to prove."
As a redshirt sophomore, Davis wasn't even supposed to make the indoor national meet after finishing one spot from qualifying; however, during the week leading up to the competition, another participant had to withdraw and Davis booked a last-second flight to compete. This year, Davis entered as the No. 13 seed out of 16 participants.
Yet again he relished the underdog the role, finishing fifth on college indoor track's biggest stage, setting a weight throw school record and earning First Team All-American honors.
"I was the only guy from our team that went (to nationals) and that was more motivation, pressure really, for me to do well," Davis said. "I wanted to represent our team and our coach and our squad. Me and coach were overjoyed; it was huge for us."
With two outdoor seasons and one indoor season remaining, Davis has yet to even hit his prime. He already owns two school records, but he wants to continue to break more and improve upon his personal bests.
"I want to keep getting better," he said. "My goal when I first got here was to get a record in something. I didn't know what it would be, but I got hammer and weight and I want to take it so high it'll be another 15 years until it's broken again."
It's unlikely his coach would be surprised if those goals are accomplished.
"He works really hard and he wants to be good," Wood said.
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