Coach on helicopter put ‘heart and soul’ in teaching

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Christina Mauser poured her heart and soul into coaching and teaching physical education at the school where young Gianna and her basketball star father Kobe Bryant were an integral part of the community.

The mother of three worked at the campus in Newport Beach for more than a decade and helped lead its eighth-grade basketball team to its first championship, Harbor Day School said in a statement.

She and her husband Matt taught and coached basketball at the school, which is how they met Bryant, Matt Mauser told NBC’s Today show.

The pilot of the helicopter was identified as Ara Zobayan.

Peter and Claudia Lowry, owners of Group 3 Aviation in Los Angeles, said he previously worked there.

In a Facebook post, the couple said Zobayan came to their company in 1998 to learn to fly after taking a sightseeing flight at the Grand Canyon and deciding he wanted to become a pilot.

Also among the victims of Sunday’s crash were Payton Chester, a 13-year-old member of the basketball team, and her mother Sarah, Payton’s grandmother Catherine George told KNBC-4 in Los Angeles.

Orange Coast College’s longtime baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa were also on board, said Tony Altobelli, the coach’s brother. Alyssa also played on Gianna’s team.

Altobelli coached at the college for 28 years, won a state championship last season and was named National Coach of the Year last year for his division, his brother said.