In his own way, through the grief process, it’s also the mindset that Mauser takes with him to the pool every time he dives in. “I want to find parents and families that have one of those kids that maybe don’t have the resources, perpetuate Christina’s spirit.” “What I want to be able to do is help girls, parents, single parents, who don’t have means but who have a child who has a lot of the qualities that Christina has, someone who’s going to make everyone on the team better, someone who’s going to be not just the best player but also the hardest worker,” Mauser said. It’s what he hopes to foster in others via the Christina Mauser Foundation. The two strains of life even collided on the day of Christina’s passing: It was only music, with the couple’s eldest daughter Penny Rose due to help Matt record a song to be released on the day of the crash, that kept her at home with him instead of on the chopper with her mother.Ĭhristina’s spirit is what Matt keeps with him, guiding him in raising the kids. It’s why Christina ended up coaching at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy and why the 38-year-old was with him that ill-fated Sunday in January. She was sweet and loving and understanding but you get her in a competitive situation, and she was a warrior.” “She was kind but you did not want to mess with her. ![]() “She was pretty and yet ferocious,” Mauser said. There was something, Matt recognized, in their shared steeliness on the court, the 5-7 heady guard who combined talent with superior work ethic and a passion for coaching – as Bryant dubbed her, Christina was the “Mother of Defense.” Matt composed music for a children’s podcast Bryant produced and acted as his envoy to the world of swimming for a book Bryant developed, what would become “Geese are never swans.”īryant was also drawn to Christina, who taught physical education and coached basketball at Harbor Day. Both taught at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, where Gianna Bryant went to school. The music also brought them into Kobe Bryant’s orbit. They met at one of Matt’s gigs, and Matt credits Christina with overhauling the band’s operations and online presence, calling her the “business behind my musical ability.” Mauser is a guitarist and singer for the Tijuana Dogs, a popular Southern California party band, and works as a Frank Sinatra tribute singer. Christina (nee Patterson) starred in basketball and volleyball at Edison, then went on to Cal State Fullerton. He’d go on to swim at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Both were standouts on the field: Matt played baseball and water polo until adding swimming his senior year. Sports and music provided the twin pathways of their lives together. ![]() That’s cool because that’s me right there, and right there and right there,’” Matt said. Just a subtle way to let her know just what kind of athlete she was lucky enough to be palling around with. Matt conjured up the idea to swing by the athletic hall of fame lining a hallway, a convenient way to accidentally on-purpose show off the plaque honoring him as a player of the year. Telling the story 16 years later, Matt evinces the stage presence he’s known for, with a raconteur’s lilt in his voice. Christina’s younger brother was wrestling for Edison High in Huntington Beach, both of their alma maters about a decade apart, when Matt offered to go with her to pick him up from practice. ![]() Matt and Christina had been dating for about a month when he figured a trip down memory lane might help his chances. It’s an escape he’s turned to again and again this year, one he credits with helping his family survive a devastatingly challenging year. … My one break during the day is go to train at noon with the Masters program. “It became my therapy, getting back in the pool and training for the sake of training. “Once she died, it became something that was more than just a hobby,” Mauser said. Getting in the water, staring at the black line while his body thrummed away and his mind zoned out, with a trusted friend alongside, that was the respite Mauser needed. That first day back after a month yielded a slog of only about 1,000 yards, but the distance wasn’t the point. In the darkest days of his grieving process, Mauser found light in the pool. In the moment, he had a request for Pombo, the coach with whom he’d bonded over Masters swimming workouts for the last two years, Mauser’s big personality melding with the focus of the Colombian coach: Would it be OK if he stopped by for an hour or so at the pool that day? And could Diego maybe meet him a little earlier than their usual noon swim, just so he would be in the pool by himself? Matt Mauser, right, with son Tom and daughter Penny Rose.
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