Upcoming dinner will help fund scholarship in Debrito’s memory

John Debrito was known for the joy and passion with which he played soccer, and for making all his teammates feel a part of his teams.

He led Southern Connecticut to two NCAA Division II championships.

“Not just that Johnny was a great player, but one of his best attributes was that he made the worst guy on the team feel as good as the best guy,” said Ray Reid, who coached Debrito at Southern. “He was a fantastic, well-liked, well-loved kid and a huge family guy.”

Debrito, who became a firefighter in Florida, died suddenly in March 2020 at age 51. Reid, who retired as Uconn coach last year, and the Debrito family are driving fundraising efforts to establish a scholarship to be given in his Debrito’s memory, starting with a dinner at Aria in Prospect on May 12 at 6:30 p.m. The future recipients will have the honor of wearing Debrito’s No. 14 for SCSU.

“You’d want that player to be someone who embodies what Johnny was all about,” Reid said.

“I would hope the young man who wins that scholarship and wears that jersey would be someone who would be humble, be kind, be giving,” said Vera Debrito-esdaile, John’s sister, “but as a soccer player and an athlete, would be very competitive. John was very competitive, but he was a team player, a teammate’s player. Everybody that played on the team with him had a relationship with him.”

John’s older brother, Pedro Debrito, helped Uconn win the Division I national championship in 1981, and died in a car accident in 2014 at age 55.

The Debrito family moved from Cape Verde to Portugal and then to Waterbury when John was very young. He played at Kaynor Tech in Waterbury before going to Southern, where he had 20 goals and 32 assists and scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over Cal-northridge in the NCAA Division II final in 1987. He captained the 1990 championship team.

Both Pedro and John Debrito played professionally and are in the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame.

“They’re the most influential brothers in the history of soccer in the state of Connecticut,” Reid said.

The family established a scholarship program in Pedro’s honor in 2014. The organization is now called the Pedro and John Debrito Foundation and will expand its efforts. A long list of soccer luminaries will be present Thursday in Prospect, Reid is expecting more than 450 in attendance. In the future, there will be more dinners, golf tournaments and other events to raise funds.

“I’ve always known how John just naturally engaged with people and had a humble spirit,” Vera said. “But to see an event like this come together and so many folks that he has come in contact with and made an impact on, and this is something they want to be a part of, is absolutely overwhelming. It doesn’t surprise me, John was that type of person, I just didn’t know the grandness of it all.”

For information and tickets for the dinner, contact Reid at Rayreiduc@yahoo.com or visit the Connecticut State Soccer Association website.