New coach and PE instructor on campus
Jimmy Munoz looks to set volleyball team into a slamming fall season

By Sarah George · The Mainstream
Published January 25, 2011

Munoz recently relocated to Oregon after an eight year power play that earned him some rather massive accolades including Southern California’s 2009 volleyball Coach of the Year. He moved up from Southern California with his wife and is currently renting a house in Eugene. “I love it up here; it’s gorgeous,” Munoz exclaimed.

Munoz developed a powerful reputation in Southern California at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana where he not only coached the men and women’s volleyball teams but also taught a freshman Earth Science class.  During his first year coaching the boys, he led the originally 11th ranked team to win the 2009 Southern California II Championships and was nominated 2009 Coach of the Year.

The Mater Dei success story was not a fluke for Munoz. He started his coaching career at Los Alamitos High School as the assistant coach to a girl’s state-title-winning team. The following year he took over as head coach and spiked his way to receiving the Sunset League Title, the CIF-SS Title, and the CIF State Title along with being named the Register’s 2005 Coach of the Year.

Munoz said he has always been into sports, playing both volleyball and football for the Mater Dei Monarchs in high school. In 1996, he was an offensive lineman for their Monarchs football team that went 14-0, winning the National Championship. Even though he didn’t move on to pursue a career in professional football, he looked up to Reggie White who used to play for the Green Bay Packers. “He was a great family man, a big religious man who had great morals, and he was just a great role model to me.”

When the time came to stop playing, Munoz thought, “If I can’t play it anymore, then why not teach it.”

Munoz’s love for sports has also caught on in the fitness center where he teaches weight training Tuesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Cooperative Work Experience Tuesday and Thursday 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and Faculty Fitness Center Tuesday and Thursday 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. as well as the student Fitness Center classes. His schedule for next term is not yet determined.

Munoz says he loves teaching people how to lift correctly and set goals plus enjoys seeing his students improve their overall appearance.