Amin Noroozi, a football player at Acalanes High School, died on Thursday after complications from a swimming accident at Stinson Beach last weekend.
He was 17.
According to reports, the accident occurred on Sunday when Noroozi dove into the ocean and struck his head on a sandbar. He sustained a spinal injury and was airlifted to a hospital.
“Amin always had a great smile and was always positive,” former Acalanes football coach Floyd Burnsed told the Bay Area News Group on Friday. “He’s the kind of kid that you build a football program around.”
In an email sent to members of the Acalanes community, principal Eric Shawn confirmed that Noroozi died at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
“This sudden loss is a shock to us all, especially given our hopes that things were moving in a different direction,” Shawn said.
Noroozi, a junior, made the varsity team last season, but injuries limited him to three games.
Burnsed said Noroozi never failed to bring positive energy to the team, even after being sidelined.
“A lot of kids when they’re injured, they kind of disappear and don’t do the things that help out the team,” Burnsed said. “He was always there rooting on the team. He always had a great attitude, great smile and he did everything he could to help the football program win.”
Numerous community members offered condolences to Noroozi’s family on social media.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Acalanes High School community as they mourn the tragic loss of #51 Amin Noroozi,” the Las Lomas Football Foundation wrote on the organization’s Facebook page. “The Las Lomas Family is here for you.”
Acalanes football performance coach Eric Marino said in an Instagram post, “We lost a great kid, but heaven gained an awesome angel.”
Acalanes has made efforts to honor Noroozi this past week.
Noroozi’s mother, Ofelia Noroozi, threw out the first pitch at Wednesday’s home baseball game against Petaluma. A candlelight vigil in honor of Noroozi is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Acalanes Stadium.
A GoFundMe was set up earlier this week to help with Noroozi’s recovery efforts. The fundraiser had raised over $158,000 as of Friday morning.