Jim Ellis (swimming coach)

James Ellis (born 1948) is an American swim coach who founded the PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation, or Pride, Determination, Resilience) swim team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He coached the team from 1971 to 2010. Ellis has been inducted to the International Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The 2007 feature film Pride is based on his life story.

Jim Ellis
Born1948
Occupation(s)Swim coach, High school math teacher
Years active1971-2010s
Known forfounder of PDR swim team in Philadelphia

Background

Ellis grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Westinghouse High School of Pittsburgh Public Schools.[1] His name is on the Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame.[2] He swam competitively in high school, and at the collegiate level for Cheney State, where he also studied mathematics.[3]

Career

After graduating from Cheney State, Ellis wanted to get a job as a teacher, but was not able to secure a position. Having previously worked as a lifeguard, he became a water safety instructor at a local recreation center in West Philadelphia.[3] He later became a math teacher at a high school in Philadelphia.[4]

In 1971, Ellis formed the PDR (Pride, Determination, Resilience or Philadelphia Department of Recreation) swim team at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Nicetown, a neighborhood in Philadelphia. The team is recognized as being the first African-American swim team in the country, and Ellis is credited with helping break down stereotypes and diversifying the sport of swimming.[5] His teams were highly competitive locally and nationally. They gained national recognition as a premier training program, sending team members to the swimming trials for every U.S. Olympic team from 1992 to 2007.[4] Many talented swimmers, like Michael Norment, came to swim for Ellis' team because of his strong reputation as a coach. Norment became the first black swimmer on the U.S. national team, and later became a swimming coach himself.[6] Ellis coached the PDR team from 1971 until 2010.

Since 2010, Ellis has been the coach of the Salvation Army Kroc Aquatics (SAKA) program located in the Salvation Army's Philadelphia-based Kroc Center.[7] He was influential in designing the pool at the center.[8]

Awards and recognition

In May 2007, Ellis received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[9] In 2015, he was named to the "List of the 30 Most Influential People In Swimming Over the Past 30 Years," selected by USA Swimming and Speedo.[10][5] Ellis was inducted to the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2019.[11]

In 2007, the feature film Pride was released, which portrays Jim Ellis and his struggles to establish the PDR team.[12][13][14]

See also

References
  1. "Howard, Ellis feel film carries positive wave," by Monica Haynes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 23, 2007
  2. The Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame, compiled by Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 19, 2007
  3. "Black History Month Trailblazers Jim Ellis". www.usaswimming.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  4. Greenleese, Nancy (October 27, 2009). "Philadelphia Teacher Has Been Making Poor Black Kids Into Competitive Swimmers for 35 Years". Voice of America.
  5. "#30MostSwimfluential: Coach Jim Ellis". Swimming World News. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  6. "Mike Norment Encourages His Community Through Swim With A Purpose Program". www.usaswimming.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  7. USASwimming.org, An Interview with Jim Ellis: Part 1, by Mike Gustafson, February 1, 2012
  8. "Black Kids Swim Interviews Jim Ellis". 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  9. "ISHOF International Swimming Hall of Fame Presidential Honor Award". Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  10. Mills, Kyle (2015-07-31). "ISHOF's de Varona and Ellis Recognized As Leaders by USA Swimming and Speedo". ISHOF. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  11. "Jim Ellis Inducted into ASCA Hall of Fame (VIDEO)". Swimming World News. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  12. "The Teacher Behind the Movie 'Pride'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  13. elias, debbie lynn (2010-09-01). "PRIDE". Behind The Lens Online. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  14. Douglas, William (2014-05-26). "Myth-busters: Philadelphians shatter athletic stereotypes one game at a time". TheColorOfHockey. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
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