Beloved Coach Dead At 28; Orange County Water Polo Community Mourns

TUSTIN, CA — The Orange County water polo community is mourning the sudden death of a beloved coach.

Francisco “Paco” Gonzalez died unexpectedly Monday, according to a GoFundMe page created for his family. Gonzalez was the head boys water polo coach at Tustin High School, where he also taught special education. He coached at the North Irvine Water Polo Club as well, and was recently appointed an Olympic Development Program coach.

Gonzalez was 28, according to KTLA.

“His smile and laugh was contagious, something that he passed on to his two beautiful children that will have to grow up without him by their side,” his wife, Josabeth Gonzalez, wrote in a post on the GoFundMe page. “He was well-known in the water polo community where he played, coached and mentored up-and-coming athletes.”

Paco met Josabeth, his high school sweetheart, at the pool and had been involved in water polo since childhood. Several water sports organizations, including USA Water Polo, the Socal Aquatics Association, and Kahuna Irvine Water Polo took to social media to share their condolences.

A candlelight vigil in Paco’s memory was planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine.

In addition to his work in water polo, Paco was part of the audio bass community and built his own bass truck.

He is survived by his wife and their two young children, Vincent and Sofia, as well as his parents, brothers and sisters. All donations will go toward covering the cost of his burial and helping support his wife and children.