Update: John Britton’s cause of death has been identified as a heart attack on Monday, May 1. 

El Camino College badminton coach and former men’s and women’s soccer coach John Britton died on Tuesday, April 11 at the age of 70.

Hailing from Scotland, Britton was an avid soccer player growing up. He joined El Camino’s coaching staff for the soccer team in 1995 and has been coaching badminton since 1998. He later became a full-time faculty member in 1999.

In 2014, Britton was named South Coast Conference Coach of the Year, leading the men’s soccer team to their first conference title since 1991.

He spent 26 seasons coaching the men’s and women’s soccer teams—his last season coaching the women’s team was in 2021.

Coach Mike Jacobson, who succeeded Britton as coach, took over the men’s soccer program in 2018.

Jacobson had known Britton long before he took the reins at the head coaching position, recruiting Britton’s players into California State University Los Angeles and later working alongside him on the coaching staff of El Camino’s soccer team.

“Salt of the earth. That’s what this man was,” Jacobson said. “He was just the most kind-hearted, unbelievably funny, caring person and just a perfect coach, instructor at a junior college level.”

Administrative assistant Linda Olsen knew Britton for 25 years, being the first full-time faculty member that she touched base with at El Camino.

As a close friend of Britton, Olsen described him as a “very outgoing person” and as someone who “never had a bad thing to say.”

Olsen said Britton was a loyal and faithful friend who was there for the good and bad times.

Olsen emphasized: “He just had a colorful background.”

This is a developing story—information about the cause of death are not yet known.
Read more stories about John Britton’s impact at El Camino College.

 

Editor’s Note: Corrected Britton’s country of origin on April 24, 2022, at 4:53 p.m.