Christina Mauser, 38, was Kobe Bryant's top assistant coach on the Mamba Sports Academy basketball team. She was killed in the helicopter crash that took the lives of Bryant, his 13 year old daughter Gigi, and six other people.
Bryant and Mauser were scheduled to coach later that day in a game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks and were en route there when the helicopter crashed. The tournament, called the Mamba Cup, featured boys' and girls' travel teams of from fourth through eighth grade.
The Sikorsky S-76 aircraft apparently encountered difficulties with weather before crashing 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Calabasas.
"I just learned that our amazing Matt Mauser of TiajuanaDogs lost his wife Christina in the crash," of Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a Tweet. "She coached the girls team. This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted."
Christina Mauser grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and attended Edison High School, where she performed with the Chargers.
Her alma mater, Edison High School, tweeted: "Our Charger Family is saddened to hear this news of Former Charger, Christina Patterson Mauser. #RIP."
Matt and Christina Mauser were both teachers working at a small private school that Bryant's daughters attended. Mauser said he was the basketball coach and his wife was the assistant coach when Bryant noticed "what an amazing mind" Christina Mauser had for the game and invited her to join his coaching team.
"He quickly realized that my wife who was the assistant coach was a much better coach than I was, and he brought her on and changed our lives," Mauser later told NBC News. "She loved every minute of it."
Her husband said Byant picked her to mentor his kids because she was so "extraordinary." But his wife's talent shone through when she helped teach basketball there, Matt Mauser recalled.
Mauser told the hosts of "Today" show Bryant particularly wanted her to teach the girls defense, chuckling as he said, "Kobe didn't really understand the zone defense because he never played at high school or college."
"They called her the Mother of Defense — M.O.D.," he said, saying he was "so proud of her."
"She was amazing," he added.
Matt Mauser remembered his "beautiful, smart, funny" wife on the "Today" show early Monday after a sleepless night following her death in Sunday's fiery California chopper crash.
"I've got three small kids and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom," he told the show in a phone call.
"I'm scared more than anything — I'm a little scared for the future."
Matt Mauser said he had a slumber party with his kids where they watched the endless tributes on TV to the nine who died.
Breaking down, he recalled his daughter telling him "it was nice to know that everyone was hurting along with us."
"I know that that sounds odd, but it does kind of help," he said on the morning show about the outpouring of "mourning and hurting."
He said he knew all the victims in the Calabasas crash, saying, "It was a family. They all really cared for each other.
Christina Mauser is survived by her husband, musician Matt Mauser, and their three children, Penny Rose, Tommy, and Ivy.
The funeral service for Christina Mauser, will be held at her alma mater Edison High in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. The 38-year-old wife and mother of three was one of the nine people killed in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Published in the Orange County Register online on February 5, 2020
Bryant and Mauser were scheduled to coach later that day in a game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks and were en route there when the helicopter crashed. The tournament, called the Mamba Cup, featured boys' and girls' travel teams of from fourth through eighth grade.
The Sikorsky S-76 aircraft apparently encountered difficulties with weather before crashing 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Calabasas.
"I just learned that our amazing Matt Mauser of TiajuanaDogs lost his wife Christina in the crash," of Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a Tweet. "She coached the girls team. This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted."
Christina Mauser grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and attended Edison High School, where she performed with the Chargers.
Her alma mater, Edison High School, tweeted: "Our Charger Family is saddened to hear this news of Former Charger, Christina Patterson Mauser. #RIP."
Matt and Christina Mauser were both teachers working at a small private school that Bryant's daughters attended. Mauser said he was the basketball coach and his wife was the assistant coach when Bryant noticed "what an amazing mind" Christina Mauser had for the game and invited her to join his coaching team.
"He quickly realized that my wife who was the assistant coach was a much better coach than I was, and he brought her on and changed our lives," Mauser later told NBC News. "She loved every minute of it."
Her husband said Byant picked her to mentor his kids because she was so "extraordinary." But his wife's talent shone through when she helped teach basketball there, Matt Mauser recalled.
Mauser told the hosts of "Today" show Bryant particularly wanted her to teach the girls defense, chuckling as he said, "Kobe didn't really understand the zone defense because he never played at high school or college."
"They called her the Mother of Defense — M.O.D.," he said, saying he was "so proud of her."
"She was amazing," he added.
Matt Mauser remembered his "beautiful, smart, funny" wife on the "Today" show early Monday after a sleepless night following her death in Sunday's fiery California chopper crash.
"I've got three small kids and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom," he told the show in a phone call.
"I'm scared more than anything — I'm a little scared for the future."
Matt Mauser said he had a slumber party with his kids where they watched the endless tributes on TV to the nine who died.
Breaking down, he recalled his daughter telling him "it was nice to know that everyone was hurting along with us."
"I know that that sounds odd, but it does kind of help," he said on the morning show about the outpouring of "mourning and hurting."
He said he knew all the victims in the Calabasas crash, saying, "It was a family. They all really cared for each other.
Christina Mauser is survived by her husband, musician Matt Mauser, and their three children, Penny Rose, Tommy, and Ivy.
The funeral service for Christina Mauser, will be held at her alma mater Edison High in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. The 38-year-old wife and mother of three was one of the nine people killed in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Published in the Orange County Register online on February 5, 2020
Christina Mauser, 38, was Kobe Bryant's top assistant coach on the Mamba Sports Academy basketball team. She was killed in the helicopter crash that took the lives of Bryant, his 13 year old daughter Gigi, and six other people.
Bryant and Mauser were scheduled to coach later that day in a game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks and were en route there when the helicopter crashed. The tournament, called the Mamba Cup, featured boys' and girls' travel teams of from fourth through eighth grade.
The Sikorsky S-76 aircraft apparently encountered difficulties with weather before crashing 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Calabasas.
"I just learned that our amazing Matt Mauser of TiajuanaDogs lost his wife Christina in the crash," of Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a Tweet. "She coached the girls team. This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted."
Christina Mauser grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and attended Edison High School, where she performed with the Chargers.
Her alma mater, Edison High School, tweeted: "Our Charger Family is saddened to hear this news of Former Charger, Christina Patterson Mauser. #RIP."
Matt and Christina Mauser were both teachers working at a small private school that Bryant's daughters attended. Mauser said he was the basketball coach and his wife was the assistant coach when Bryant noticed "what an amazing mind" Christina Mauser had for the game and invited her to join his coaching team.
"He quickly realized that my wife who was the assistant coach was a much better coach than I was, and he brought her on and changed our lives," Mauser later told NBC News. "She loved every minute of it."
Her husband said Byant picked her to mentor his kids because she was so "extraordinary." But his wife's talent shone through when she helped teach basketball there, Matt Mauser recalled.
Mauser told the hosts of "Today" show Bryant particularly wanted her to teach the girls defense, chuckling as he said, "Kobe didn't really understand the zone defense because he never played at high school or college."
"They called her the Mother of Defense — M.O.D.," he said, saying he was "so proud of her."
"She was amazing," he added.
Matt Mauser remembered his "beautiful, smart, funny" wife on the "Today" show early Monday after a sleepless night following her death in Sunday's fiery California chopper crash.
"I've got three small kids and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom," he told the show in a phone call.
"I'm scared more than anything — I'm a little scared for the future."
Matt Mauser said he had a slumber party with his kids where they watched the endless tributes on TV to the nine who died.
Breaking down, he recalled his daughter telling him "it was nice to know that everyone was hurting along with us."
"I know that that sounds odd, but it does kind of help," he said on the morning show about the outpouring of "mourning and hurting."
He said he knew all the victims in the Calabasas crash, saying, "It was a family. They all really cared for each other.
Christina Mauser is survived by her husband, musician Matt Mauser, and their three children, Penny Rose, Tommy, and Ivy.
The funeral service for Christina Mauser, will be held at her alma mater Edison High in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. The 38-year-old wife and mother of three was one of the nine people killed in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Published in the Orange County Register online on February 5, 2020
Bryant and Mauser were scheduled to coach later that day in a game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks and were en route there when the helicopter crashed. The tournament, called the Mamba Cup, featured boys' and girls' travel teams of from fourth through eighth grade.
The Sikorsky S-76 aircraft apparently encountered difficulties with weather before crashing 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Calabasas.
"I just learned that our amazing Matt Mauser of TiajuanaDogs lost his wife Christina in the crash," of Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a Tweet. "She coached the girls team. This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted."
Christina Mauser grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and attended Edison High School, where she performed with the Chargers.
Her alma mater, Edison High School, tweeted: "Our Charger Family is saddened to hear this news of Former Charger, Christina Patterson Mauser. #RIP."
Matt and Christina Mauser were both teachers working at a small private school that Bryant's daughters attended. Mauser said he was the basketball coach and his wife was the assistant coach when Bryant noticed "what an amazing mind" Christina Mauser had for the game and invited her to join his coaching team.
"He quickly realized that my wife who was the assistant coach was a much better coach than I was, and he brought her on and changed our lives," Mauser later told NBC News. "She loved every minute of it."
Her husband said Byant picked her to mentor his kids because she was so "extraordinary." But his wife's talent shone through when she helped teach basketball there, Matt Mauser recalled.
Mauser told the hosts of "Today" show Bryant particularly wanted her to teach the girls defense, chuckling as he said, "Kobe didn't really understand the zone defense because he never played at high school or college."
"They called her the Mother of Defense — M.O.D.," he said, saying he was "so proud of her."
"She was amazing," he added.
Matt Mauser remembered his "beautiful, smart, funny" wife on the "Today" show early Monday after a sleepless night following her death in Sunday's fiery California chopper crash.
"I've got three small kids and I'm trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom," he told the show in a phone call.
"I'm scared more than anything — I'm a little scared for the future."
Matt Mauser said he had a slumber party with his kids where they watched the endless tributes on TV to the nine who died.
Breaking down, he recalled his daughter telling him "it was nice to know that everyone was hurting along with us."
"I know that that sounds odd, but it does kind of help," he said on the morning show about the outpouring of "mourning and hurting."
He said he knew all the victims in the Calabasas crash, saying, "It was a family. They all really cared for each other.
Christina Mauser is survived by her husband, musician Matt Mauser, and their three children, Penny Rose, Tommy, and Ivy.
The funeral service for Christina Mauser, will be held at her alma mater Edison High in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. The 38-year-old wife and mother of three was one of the nine people killed in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Published in the Orange County Register online on February 5, 2020
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