Jim Ellis (swimming coach) facts for kids

James Ellis (born 1947) is a famous American swim coach. He is known for starting the PDR (Pride, Determination, Resilience) swim team. This team was one of the first mainly Black swim teams for young people in the city. It was located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Coach Ellis led the PDR team from 1971 to 2008. They practiced at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center. Later, from 2010 to 2023, the team moved to the new Salvation Army Kroc Center. The 2007 movie Pride is based on his amazing life story. It showed how much his swimming program achieved.

Early Life and Learning to Swim

Jim Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1947. He grew up there. He started swimming at the Highland Park pool. This pool had recently allowed people of all races to swim there. As a teenager, he worked as a lifeguard at the same pool.

By the mid-1960s, many Black lifeguards worked at Pittsburgh's outdoor pools. The Highland Park pool was very large. It was even used for swim competitions.

School and College

Ellis went to Westinghouse High School. Many Black students attended this school. He was honored by having his name placed on the school's Wall of Fame.

He swam competitively in high school. Then, he swam for Cheyney State. This was a historically Black university near Philadelphia. He also studied mathematics there.

Becoming a Coach

After college, Ellis wanted to be a teacher. But he couldn't find a teaching job right away. Since he had been a lifeguard, he became a water safety instructor. He taught at the Sayre-Morrie Recreation Center in West Philadelphia. Later, he became a math teacher at a high school in Philadelphia. He taught there for many years.

Starting the PDR Swim Team

In 1971, Jim Ellis created the PDR swim team. PDR stands for "Pride, Determination, Resilience." It also stood for "Philadelphia Department of Recreation." The team started at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Nicetown, a neighborhood in Philadelphia.

The PDR team is known as the first African-American swim team in the United States. Coach Ellis helped break down old ideas about swimming. He made the sport more diverse. His teams were very strong in local and national competitions.

Amazing Achievements

The PDR team became famous as a top training program. Many team members went to the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. They participated in trials for every U.S. Olympic team from 1992 to 2007.

In the 1980s, swimmers from Ellis's club earned college scholarships. They also set national age-group records. Some even qualified for the Olympic trials. By 2019, it's thought that over 100 of his swimmers had received college scholarships.

Many talented swimmers joined Ellis's team because he was such a great coach. Michael Norment was one of them. He became the first Black swimmer on the U.S. national team. Later, he became a swimming coach himself.

Pool Changes

Coach Ellis led the PDR team from 1971 until 2010. In 2008, the Marcus Foster Pool closed. It was in bad shape. So, Ellis moved his team. For a while, they practiced at La Salle University in Philadelphia. In the summer of 2008, he also taught swimming at Kelly Pool in Fairmont Park.

The Movie Pride

In 2007, a movie called Pride was released. It tells the story of Jim Ellis and how he worked hard to start the PDR team. The actor Terrence Howard played Coach Ellis very well.

The movie showed some challenges, like prejudice. But Coach Ellis said that in real life, his team didn't face as much discrimination from other coaches as shown in the film. He did agree that some forms of prejudice existed.

Coaching at the Kroc Center

In spring 2010, the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center opened. It was in Nicetown, the same area as Ellis's old pool. This new center cost a lot of money to build. It had a grant from the Kroc Foundation.

The center included a modern swimming pool. It was called the Jimmy Moran Competition Pool. It was designed for lessons, water polo, and swim meets. Coach Ellis helped design this pool. The movie Pride might have helped bring attention to his program. This new pool was a big help for his swim club.

Since late 2010, Ellis has been the coach of the Salvation Army Kroc Aquatics (SAKA) program. It's located at the Kroc Center. As of 2023, the pool and Ellis's program have been open and active almost all the time. Sometimes, his program is still called the Philadelphia Department of Recreation Swim Team. But it's not directly linked to that department anymore. By 2011, he had a competitive team of about 40 swimmers. He also worked as the Aquatics Director.

Awards and Honors

Jim Ellis has received many awards for his work:

• In May 2007, he got the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
• In 2015, he was named one of the "30 Most Influential People In Swimming Over the Past 30 Years." This list was chosen by USA Swimming and Speedo.
• In 2019, Ellis was added to the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

See also

• Inspirational/motivational instructors/mentors portrayed in films
• Pride (2007 film)