Joshua Medcalf Senior Profile

DURHAM, N.C. ? Joshua Medcalf recently sat down with GoDuke.com for his senior profile. The graduate student in the Masters of Arts and Liberal Studies program is using his fourth year of eligibility at Duke after playing three seasons at Vanderbilt from 2003 through 2005. Medcalf plays forward for the Blue Devils. Read on to learn who has impacted him the most, what he admires about his coach, plus much more.

GoDuke.com: What is your nickname?
Joshua Medcalf: Bear. When I was two years old I lived in Chicago and one of the first things that I said was ?Go Bears'. It is more than a nickname, my family calls me Bear, all my friends call me Bear, even some of my teachers call me Bear.

GD: Who is your favorite professional player outside your sport?
JM: Tiger Woods. I love the way that he plays and how he has transformed a hobby into a sport. It's a close call between him and Michael Jordan, but for me Tiger wins because of what he has done for the game. The NBA dropped off after Jordan left, golf will continue to grow even after Tiger retires because of the way he has transformed the entire culture surrounding golf.

GD: What is your favorite movie?
JM: I have a lot of favorites, but I'll say Boondock Saints because I love the justice they deliver (I'm a bit of a rebel myself).

GD: What's your favorite book?
JM: My favorite book is The Street Lawyer, by John Grisham.

GD: What's the last non-school related book you read?
JM: Freakenomics.

GD: What's your favorite TV show?
JM: Prison Break or Big Shots.

GD: Are you superstitious and if so, describe why?
JM: I'm not superstitious, but I am a littlestitious. I think it gives me a little extra boost of confidence.

GD: What would your dream job be?
JM: My dream job would be playing golf four times a week at any course in the country with very powerful people.

GD: Who's had the most impact on your life and why?
JM: My mom has had the greatest impact on my life because she has always been a steady rock for me to lean on. My family has been through a lot and I would have to say she is the strongest woman I have ever known.

GD: Who's had the most impact on your athletic career and why?
JM: There have been three people. First there was my club coach, Victor Moreland, he always believed in me and thought that I was one of the best forwards in the country, even though I was not a highly sought after recruit. Then the next two would be Tim McClements and fellow teammate Joe Germanese. McClements coached Joe and me at Vanderbilt before we had our program cancelled, and even though I did not realize it at the time he instilled a lot of invaluable characteristics in me as a player. Although, I considered myself one of the best players at Vanderbilt I did not put up good numbers or get any recognition while playing there. Because of this, the Duke coaches had to go off the recommendations from Joe and McClements in order decide whether or not I was good enough to play here. Without the word of these two people I do not have a clue where I would be today and I am extremely thankful to them as well as the Duke coaches for giving me the opportunity to play for such a highly esteemed program.

GD: What's your favorite memory to date of your college career?
JM: When I scored the game tying goal against Virginia with only a minute left to send it to overtime, and eventually winning the game off a Mike Grella goal. It felt like it would be the turning point in our season, where breaks would finally start going our way.

GD: What would the perfect end to your athletic career look like?
JM: Winning a national championship. Before coming to Duke our goal at Vanderbilt had been to get into the NCAA Tournament and nothing would feel better than winning it all here at Duke.

GD: What's your favorite part of practice and why?
JM: I love practicing every day except the two days before a game. I am not a very talented player and I have gotten where I am today because of hard work. Practice is where I know that I can beat my opponents, because if I put the work in every day it will show up when the lights come on.

GD: What's the thing you most admire about your coach and why?
JM: What I admire the most about Coach Rennie is his ability to instill confidence in his players through coaching, or through not over coaching. A lot of coaches tell you they believe in you but they spend every minute of practice and games screaming at you and telling you how you are screwing up. One of the first things coach told me was, “play as Bear, don't try and play like anyone else, just be you”. Even when I wasn't playing as much as I would like I knew that coach believed in me. To me that type of coaching is priceless, and the success I have had here is a credit to the belief that Coach Rennie has had in me from day one.

GD: What is your advice to children?
JM: Follow your dreams; be willing to work hard and make sacrifices to achieve your dreams. Never listen to anyone who says give up, only use that as motivation to work harder. Never, never, never, give up on your dreams, and always know that there are going to be thousands of people who tell you to quit because they were too scared to make their dreams come true. You wouldn't take your car to the grocery store to get it fixed, and you shouldn't listen to people who have quit on their dreams because they don't know what it takes. Find people who have made their dreams come true and listen to them, because they have done what it takes. No one said it would be easy.

GD: What do you do in your free time?
JM: I play a lot of golf and basketball. I enjoy the individualistic nature of golf compared to a large team sport like soccer. It allows me to release a lot of tension and anger, but it also puts all the pressure on myself. There's no one to blame but yourself; in golf you control your own destiny. I also enjoyed playing football and volleyball. If I'm not playing soccer I'm probably competing in some form or fashion. I'm a little obsessed with it.