Coach’s Death Disturbs Colleagues, Former Player : Basketball: Newport Harbor’s Jakosky recalls speaking to Raya about the deaths of his brothers. DeBruijn remembers his dedication.

Newport Harbor girls’ basketball Coach Shannon Jakosky fought back tears Friday recalling an all-star banquet in which she found a common bond with El Dorado Coach Gary Raya.

“I knew Gary’s teams but had not gotten to know him,” Jakosky said. “We were sitting at the head table and I told him that I had lost a brother to something he had probably never heard of, sleep apnea, when he was 36.

“Gary said, ‘Are you serious? I lost two brothers.’ He basically acknowledged that it was the same type of thing, that they had died mysteriously in their sleep. And we spoke briefly about the tragedy and how hard it was on our mothers.”

Raya, one of the most successful coaches in Orange County over the last four years, died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack. He was 29.

“When I read that, it sent a chill down my spine, and I’m very sad for his family and for him,” Jakosky said. “Gary was a class act, extremely sophisticated. I was always so impressed with the way he dressed, the way he acted and his overall concern for his team and for the sport of girls’ basketball in general. He was a great representative of the game.”

Raya’s body was discovered about 2:30 p.m. by his father, Joe, who has worked at El Dorado since the school opened 31 years ago. Joe Raya ran the scoreboard for the El Dorado girls’ basketball games while another son, Matt, 22, ran the 30-second clock.

In addition to coaching the girls’ program, which was 83-24 the last four years, Gary Raya also was an assistant on the boys’ varsity staff.

“I think a lot of people who watched his sideline antics would say he was extremely intense,” Jakosky said, “but in my opinion, I think he played the game with his players for 32 minutes. He walked up and down and was with them every second of the game.

“He took a program and stepped in just to help out, and he proved in a very short time that he was capable of building a very strong program. I don’t know what his long-term goals and aspirations were, but he would have been an excellent coach on any level because of his desire and love for the game.”

Raya’s brother, James, died 9 1/2 years ago because of fluid in his lungs. He was 30. Patrick Raya died 4 1/2 years ago from heart failure. He was 32.

One former El Dorado player, Michelle deBruijn, said she would remember Raya’s unselfishness, saying that some perceived him as playing favorites when “there were people who needed that attention and some of those needed father figures.”

“He would always be there if you needed him,” said deBruijn, a freshman at Fullerton College. “He couldn’t be mean to anybody outside of practice. If you needed someone to talk to, he’d listen.”

The school dedicated Friday’s Fall Assembly to Raya and honored him with a moment of silence.

The school’s new trophy case, built with funds given by the Raya family from donations after the deaths of James and Patrick Raya, was finished Wednesday.

“It’s there, ready to go, but as far as the engraving, we’ll include Gary on that in some way, certainly,” said Sally Reclusado, El Dorado girls’ athletic director. “We had intentions of highlighting certain athletes and families in the center portion of the case and change it weekly or bi-monthly, and have a big write-up on the Raya family for our first highlight.

“The timing was just unbelievable.”