#CFCOPC PLAYERS TO WATCH: Team West Freshman RB Munoz eyes third straight win (VIDEO)

The countdown begins to CanadaFootballChat.com’s Ontario Prospect Challenge (OPC) on the April 29th weekend at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. In the days leading up to OPC, CFC will preview the teams and players participating in the big event. 

Josh Muñoz brings a quartet of assets to the gridiron: determination, hard work, respect and leadership.

“When you want your team to win, you need to be determined and believe in yourself and your team to get the job done. It has always stuck with me from my Peewee days. You gain respect from your coaches and team from working and encouraging each other,” he pointed out. “You win and lose as a family; when you put all your hard work & effort, at the end of the day, win or lose, you still come out a winner because you know you gave it your all. Demonstrating my leadership by being a mentor, supporting and encouraging my teammates shows that with hard work comes success.”

All throughout his career with the Hamilton Roughriders of the Hamilton Minor Football Association (HMFA), Hamilton-Wentworth Panthers of the Hamilton-Wentworth Minor Football Association (HWMFA), Burlington Stampeders of the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) and St Thomas More Knights of the Hamilton-Wentworth Interscholastic Athletic Council (HWIAC), he has grown a love for playing tailback.

“I like being a running back because I like to carry the ball, run through the hole and reach the end zone for a touchdown,” Muñoz mentioned. “It feels great when you work so hard with your team and see the end results through touchdowns.  There’s a sense of great satisfaction that everyone’s hard work has paid off.”

He also has a great story of how one of his doubters was proved wrong thanks to hard work and commitment.

“One of the most challenging early moments I had in Peewee was when my head coach, Curtis Bell asked me what position I wanted to play,” Muñoz described. “I told him I would like to be a wide receiver and he said ‘no’ and told me I was not a wide receiver. I was determined and trained very hard with my dad before the season started. That season, I gained my coaches trust and became a wide receiver. My hard work paid off.”

Muñoz’s football idol is one of the NFL’s best young pivots.

“I admire Russell Wilson because of how he demonstrates his leadership with the team.  Also he demonstrated that size does not matter, but hard work and determination is more important to succeed,” he stated. “He is famous, but at the same time, he is very humble about it. I feel I see myself in him and my motto has always been ‘Stay blessed and stay humbled.’

On April 30, the Hamilton native will be playing in his third straight Ontario Prospect Challenge, this time on home turf at Tim Hortons Field.

“I was first introduced to OPC when I joined the Burlington Stampeders through my coaches,” he said of his 2014 intro to the event. “It’s been a great process. It was a great opportunity for me to get developed and be mentored by some awesome coaches. I have also met so many teammates that have the same goals as myself.”

Over the years he has become quite familiar with the OPC process, and is relishing the opportunity to once again compete with and against some of the best players this province has to offer.

“OPC has always been a fun experience for me,” Muñoz said. “It also keeps me challenged and I’m looking forward to meeting and competing with so many talented football players from across Ontario.”

Muñoz is a major proponent of pre-game preparation prior to all games, but especially big ones such as the OPC.

“In any football game, whether it be the rep league, high school, all star game, etc., I always make sure I am prepared mentally and physically so I can play my very best for my team,” he expressed. “I know my team is counting on me to do my job, just like I count on them.  Football is a team sport and therefore, my team has to work together to succeed in winning the championship.”