Three coaches who knew Coach Altobelli well share memories on anniversary of his death

The Altobelli family in a photo from 2014, from top left-clockwise J.J. Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alexis Altobelli and Alyssa Altobelli.  (File photo courtesy OCC Media Relations)

It was an emotional day Tuesday for family, friends, former coaching colleagues and players on the one-year anniversary of the death of long-time legendary Orange Coast College Coach John Altobelli.

Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, that also included Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and four others, including teacher and youth basketball coach Christina Mauser.

College officials honored Altobelli with a special video virtual memorial ceremony on You Tube Tuesday morning with tributes from college officials, including athletic director Jason Kehler, current baseball coach Nate Johnson and Altobelli’s brother, Tony, the sports information director at OCC.

All spoke about Altobelli’s devotion to his family and players and his love of life and baseball during the 45-minute program narrated by Tony Altobelli. The moving video can be viewed by going to the Orange Coast College website.

Johnson and Tony Altobelli said they look forward to the day when life returns to normal and fans can come to the OCC park that Altobelli helped build to share stories and enjoy baseball.

Among those who watched the tribute was former UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gerakos, who hired Altobelli in 1988 to to be an assistant coach with the Anteaters. Altobelli worked there until 1992 when he became the OCC coach. Altobelli, who was about to enter his 28th season, went on to lead the OCC program to more than 700 victories and four state titles.

Gerakos said he will also remember the impact that Altobelli made.

“We struggled at times but we had a great time. Alto was a great assistant, I can’t imagine a better one,” Gerakos said Tuesday. “He had high energy and passion for the game. He challenged himself and the players to be the best they could be both on and off the field.

“He was energetic and passionate about the game, he wanted to learn about the profession and I just feel proud that I had a little part in hopefully some of his success.

“The UCI players loved him because he cared about them on and off the field.  That is what Alto did for 27 years at OCC. He absolutely cared and you can’t fake that.

“He made people around him better and you wanted to be better around him and that’s what the players said also, that’s why he was so successful.”

Altobelli and Gerakos talked often about Gerakos joining him at Orange Coast College after Gerakos retired from University High, where he coached the baseball team. Gerakos later went on to be an assistant coach at Corona del Mar.

“Over the years, we had numerous discussions about going full cycle,” Gerakos said. “He would say, ‘coach, retire from Uni, and come on over to OCC and you can be one of my assistants.’ That was something that was sort of on my bucket list that’s not going to be able to be checked off, I’m just going to have to enjoy the memories that I have of Alto. The spirit of Alto will always be with me.”

Long-time high school coach Bob Flint, who had a stint as an assistant coach at Orange Coast College under Altobelli, also had fond memories of him and recalled how he handled the death of OCC standout player and former Northwood player Jourdan Watanabe.

“My favorite memory of Alto came after a massive blowout loss to Saddleback (College),” Flint said. “We had just lost our catcher Jordy Watanabe. Jordy’s death was an obvious tragedy. It was a major psychological hit to the players and staff. After an emotional heart tugging memorial on the field at OCC, we played the Gauchos.

“Understandably, we lost something like 23-5. After this loss, Alto spoke some ‘magic words’ to the team. Instead of disappointing words, he praised our kids for taking the next forward in playing that game with Jordy’s death on their minds and psyche. What a marvelous group of kids they were. It was a great speech, the right words at the right time. It takes great leadership to do the right thing in the moment. His words went beyond baseball.

“He kept Jordy’s family involved in Pirate baseball, ‘always a Pirate’ became the the mantra. The next year, as state champs, our rings had Jordy’s number 22 engraved in them. He always kept Jordy at the forefront of OCC baseball.  This is the John Altobelli I remember. Good guy, good dad, good husband, terrific baseball coach, good friend.”

Tustin High baseball coach Charlies Chatman also remembered the positive qualities that Altobelli had.

“My fondest memory of Alto goes back to when I was a high school athlete at Costa Mesa in the middle 90’s,” Chatman said. “Me going to OCC was almost a forgone conclusion, with Coast being across the street from Costa Mesa and the way he treated me after I chose Golden West (College) has stuck with me through my playing and coaching career. He never treated me any different as a player and later in life as a coach.

“I thanked him a bunch of years back and his response was, ‘our job is to build relationships not break them down.’ Our responsibility as mentors and coaches couldn’t be better stated. Alto was one of the best to do it and his reach extended far past only those guys who played for him.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com