Brandford is mourning the loss of 48-year-old Erik Cottle, the 8th-grade basketball coach of his son’s school, who valued teamwork and fun above all else.
The Coach passed away unexpectedly on October 29, 2025, while at Yale New Haven Hospital, leaving behind his son, John, his mother, Jill, his partner, Seble, and his brothers, Charles, Mark, and Greg.
Though a Branford resident, Cottle was born in New Haven and graduated from East Haven High School in 1995.
He was a three-sport athlete for the High School team and was superior at Football for the Yellowjackets.
More than Just a Coach
As a proud father and coach, he also loved watching his students and son play. He became a father to his son John in 2011.
He told everyone how proud he was when his son played in a tournament at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
He loved the teams tied to his family roots, the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Penn State, and was an avid UConn fan.
The late coach also enjoyed biking, hiking, kayaking, and used to listen to the likes of Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam.
Beyond Coaching and enjoying hobbies, Cottle ran a handyman business handling roofing, carpentry, and home repairs.
Everywhere he went, he was full of kindness, sweetness, caring, and love toward every individual he knew.
Especially, he enjoyed mentoring the youths, coaching, and traininh his students and even supported Bratford’s local basketball programs
Neighbors remember him as the guy who would show up to fix things, practical, dependable, and ready to help.
As word spread, friends and neighbors offered condolences. “Rest in peace — I’m so sorry for this family,” Kristin DiCarlo Liguori wrote.
Laura Nuzzello, who drove John on her bus for years, added, “I always liked Erik. So sorry for your loss, John.”
The Cottle family has set up a memorial fund to support John and to help Branford youth access local sports.
Organizer Megan Kelly Gilman thanked donors and supporters, writing that the family is “so incredibly grateful for everyone who has donated, shared, and sent messages of support.”
You can also be part of the fundraiser program and help fulfill Erik’s ideology, that youth sports programs could help create joy and connect the community more.
Funeral services for Erik Cottle were held on November 4, 2025, at Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home in East Haven, with burial privately attended by family.
