OXFORD, Miss– John Altobelli was among those killed in the fatal helicopter crash involving former Los Angeles Laker, Kobe Bryant and Bryant’s daughter Gigi. Altobelli was the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College located in Orange County, California. He served as a coach, colleague and friend for 27 years at the Junior College he called home.
I am from Orange County and this tragedy has overwhelmed my community. Coach Altobelli attended Newport Harbor High School which is where I went as well. While at Newport Harbor, John met his best friend to this day, Clark Smith. Clark has a son named Cole who is a junior Economics major at Texas Christian University.
Cole explained that he was close to Altobelli as well and that their families have a unique bond. Cole said they would go out to dinner together often and fish on their boat. “He was a great mentor to me and a family man to the fullest extent. He was just very ethical in how he coached and always wanted to do things the right way, ” said Cole.
The daughter of Coach Altobelli, Alyssa was also on board the helicopter the morning of January 27th. Alyssa was the best friend of Kobe’s daughter Gianna and Cole said they were inseparable. Alyssa and Gianna had played basketball together for years and their friendship was just at the beginning.
Collin Pipkin is a former Orange Coast College basketball player and he recalled the time Coach Altobelli gave his team a pregame speech before they headed off to compete for a state championship. “He controlled the room so well. I looked around the room and all eyes were locked into him. He was so genuine with us,” said Pipkin.
Across his 27 years of coaching, Altobelli was able to impact the lives of many of his players. Cameron Jabara, a former Orange Coast College baseball player, had this to say about his late coach. “I mean Kobe is the top of the one percent and so is Alto. I imagine Kobe wouldn’t associate himself with anything less than the top one percent in terms of people and character, and I think that speaks volumes for both of them and what type of people they were. He was an unbelievable coach who made you excited about heading to the field everyday. He was a dude!”
Pipkin said his head coach of the basketball team at OCC, Steve Spencer, only had good things to say about Altobelli. “He was a super nice and humble guy. A legend at the school being there for almost 30 years and bringing them multiple state championships,” added Pipkin.
Altobelli leaves behind his legacy with his daughter, Lexi and oldest son JJ. JJ attended the University of Oregon where he played baseball and is now currently an MLB scout.
Altobelli was a victim of a terrible tragedy and his life deserves to be celebrated along with the other 8 people involved in the accident. No ones life is more important than another’s and this is a time for all of us to reflect on all the blessings in our lives. No time for hate just respect to one another.
John Altobelli will always be remembered for his contributions on the baseball field, the friendships he created and the lives of his players he impacted. A fixture of what now seems like a broken community in Orange County is gone but it is bringing us all closer together. Hard to find any good in such a tragedy but being there for one another and sending prayers can mend a little bit of the pain.
Rest in Peace John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Ara Zobayan, Christina Mauser, Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant
Zach Blaine 