Hoping to recognize a ‘monumental’ man

Last December, Malverne’s beloved football coach, Colbert Britt, an educator and an inspiration to thousands of Malverne High School students for four decades, died. Last week, initial steps were taken to recognize his contribution by naming the high school football field in his honor.

Sandra Richard, a Malverne High School parent and a member of the Malverne Mules Gridiron Club — a group of parents and guardians of current and past football players — approached the district’s Board of Education at its September meeting with the idea. “We’re making an attempt to have the district name the field in his memory,” Richard said. “He was a beloved coach, and many of the alumni asked that I pursue this.”

The district has five pages of guidelines that need to be followed in order for a naming request to be considered by the board. The steps include a petition signed by 750 people, a description of the person’s contribution to the district, and a statement as to why the facility should be named after that person, among other items. Since starting her petition on GoPetition.com last week, Richard had received more than 700 signatures as of Monday.

“I have three sons that went through the football program and were all coached by Coach Britt,” said Richard, a Nassau County Police Department sergeant. “I can’t even tell you the value he had instilled in me and my children. He was a quiet man who never looked for notoriety for anything he did, but he was a big part of the program there.”

Britt began coaching in Malverne in 1972, and shortly thereafter he became one of the founding members of the Lakeview Youth Federation, which organizes community sports organizations for local youth. “I’ve known him since 1975,” said Charles Nanton, another federation co-founder and a coach at Malverne High. “He was my son’s first coach in high school, and that’s how we became friends.”

In 1990, Britt and his wife, Norma, founded the Friendship Games, which are attended by thousands of people each year and consist of track and field events for high school athletes from Long Island’s private and public schools. The Games honor the spirit and the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“He was a monumental man,” Malverne football coach Kito Lockwood once told the Herald, referring to Britt. “From day one, he was a great motivator and a very influential mentor. I owe a great deal of my success to him.”