A man for all seasons: Remembering longtime El Camino coach, teacher John Christopulos
John Christopulos wasn’t much of a cook, but he could whip up a mean bowl of Greek lemon soup.
“That was what he was famous for,” Christopulos’ son, Steve, said last week remembering his father.
Ourside of family and friends, Christopulos was best known for brewing up championship teams, blending the right players together with a dash of firm yet fair coaching traits and values. He coached a number of sports over 44 years, including 30 of them at El Camino High School in the San Juan Unified School District.
A 2012 inductee into the Northern California Athletic Hall of Fame, Christopulos died last week of natural causes just weeks shy of his 90th birthday.
As well known as he was for leading powerhouse El Camino basketball and football teams, Christopulos took equal pride in his classroom leadership. He’d dress the part of someone from the Middle East if that was the subject of the day, so students could see a bit of the culture as he talked about it. And there was the food aspect to spice up a classroom.
“Dad was famous for ‘culture days’ where students brought in food from different cultures,” his son John said. “He loved food. I think he drove the other teachers nuts with the smell of food in the hall and other students coming down to his room just to get food.”
Christopulos was one firm chef of a coach on game day. He did not give players any star treatment, and a pat on the back was a treasured gift from the old coach in an era where a scowl was more the norm. In the early 1990s, Christopulos would challenge star baseball player Derrek Lee, a first-round pick in 1993 who logged 15 Major League Baseball seasons, to play his part in basketball. Christopulos would call a timeout and chew on Lee if he didn’t box out or run the floor. Lee responded with inspired efforts and credited his coach for the kick in the pants..
“Gotta coach them hard and let them know you love them, too,” Christopulos once told The Bee. His 1989 El Camino team that won a Sac-Joaquin Section championship was among his best.
Christopulos was a competitor, to put it simply, and he coached some 1,600 high school games and matches, winning a lot more than he lost. He led a number of state-ranked teams, and some were nationally ranked in basketball. And he reveled in the chance to inspire his guys while downplaying his nickname of “Giant Killer” by rival coaches for his ability to pull upsets.
In 1997, El Camino’s highly ranked basketball team had to beat even higher-ranked Grant and Del Campo to win the Capital Athletic League. Grant was led by eventual NFL players Donte Stallworth and Onterrio Smith and Del Campo by eventual longtime NBA player Matt Barnes. El Camino had a group of grinders.
What to do? The coach was tickled that one of his players dyed his hair blond and he told the team that if the Eagles won the league crown, he’d go blond as well.
“They ended up beating both teams, and my dad as well as the entire team dyed their hair blond,” Steve, the son, recalled. “When my dad got to school the next day, every kid on campus just had to walk down to his class to see his hair. Nevertheless, a disruptive school day.”
Christopulos retired from coaching in 1999.
Christopulos was born in in Salt Lake City in 1932. He was a graduate of West High School in 1950 after playing football, basketball, baseball and tennis. He was scouted by the New York Yankees and was a nationally ranked tennis player. He served in the Air Force in the Korean War, later earning a masters at the University of Utah.
Christopulos started his coaching career in Nevada and Utah before settling into Carmichael in 1969 when he accepted a teaching post at El Camino.
Funeral services are Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Greek Orthodox Church on Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento. Steve, the proud son, will be there to shake hands, to hug well-wishers, to share stories. Christopulos is survived by his wife of 62 years Annette, son Steve and daughter Alexia.
“My dad was not only a coach but a mentor,” Steve said. “A lot of his former players have told me that he changed their lives. I grew up in the early 1970s going with my dad to scout football and basketball games. I would watch him write down notes and learned a lot of ways on how the games should be played and coached. I went to every game and was mostly the ball boy. I listened intently again and again about the game. He also taught me how to play baseball. It was also great that he knew a lot of players in the pros. It gave a chance to go to ball games and for him to introduce me to them.”
Steve Christopulos quarterbacked one of his father’s unbeaten football teams and he played basketball for his father on teams that went 63-8 in the early 1980s. He later assisted him in basketball coaching, the greatest thrill for father and son.
“We had a lot of fun,” Steve said.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 4:00 AM.