Jim Ellis (swimming coach)

Last updated
Jim Ellis
Biographical details
Born1947
Pittsburgh, PA [1]
Alma mater Cheyney State
Cheyney, PA.
Playing career
1966-70
(Estimate)		Cheyney State
Swim Team
Position(s)freestyle swimming
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1971-2010PDR Swim Club
Nicetown, PA
2010-2023SAK Aquatics
Swim Coach
(Krok Aquatics Director)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
National Age Group records
M. Norment - U.S. National Team
Olympic Trial participants '92-'97
Awards
ASCA Hall of Fame
President's Award
Int. Swim. Hall of Fame

James Ellis (born 1947) is an American swim coach who founded the PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation, or Pride, Determination, Resilience) swim team just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as one of the few predominantly Black swim teams largely for intercity youth. He coached the team from 1971 to 2008, at Nicetown's Marcus Foster Recreation Center outside Philadelphia then moved the team to Nicetown's newly built Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center from 2010-2023 where it became affiliated with the Salvation Army Kroc Center. The 2007 feature film Pride is based on his life story, and focused a great deal of attention on the accomplishments of his swimming program.

Contents

Early influences

Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1947, [1] and grew up there. He began swimming at the recently integrated Highland Park pool in Pittsburgh and as a youth took a position as a lifeguard there. By the mid-1960's the Pittsburgh outdoor pools had hired several black lifeguards. Currently the largest outdoor public pool in Pittsburgh, the Highland Park pool was large when Ellis worked there and had been used for swim competitions. [1] In July, 1951, the pool had been the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Pittsburgh Urban League on behalf of League member Alexander Allen which claimed that he had been deprived of his civil rights by being chased from the pool by a group of White teenagers. The Pittsburgh Urban league won the suit, with the court noting that public pools should allow access regardless of race. [2]

Education

Ellis graduated from Westinghouse High School which had a large black enrollment, and was part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. [3] He received the honor of having his name placed on the Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame. [4] He swam competitively in high school, and at the collegiate level for Cheney State, an historically Black University near Philadelphia, where he also studied mathematics. [5]

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 Sayre-Morrie Recreation Center in West Philadelphia. [5] He later became a math teacher at a high school in Philadelphia where he taught for many years. [6] [7]

PDR swim team coach

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. [8] 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. [6]

In the 1980's, members of Ellis's swim club had received college scholarships for their swimming skills, set national age-group records, and a few had been selected for the Olympic trials. [9] By 2019, over 100 of Ellis's swimming club members were estimated to have received college scholarships. [10] [11]   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. [10] [12]

Closing of Marcus Foster Pool

Ellis coached the PDR team from 1971 until 2010. In 2008, the Marcus Foster Pool in Nicetown, where Ellis coached the PDR team, was closed due to disrepair to both the building and the pool and Ellis relocated his team, whose program was associated with Philadelphia's Parks and Recreation Department. By 2019, all but one of the Philadelphia indoor public pools closed, though most outdoor public pools remained open. [13]

For a period after the closing of the Marcus Foster Pool in 2008, and prior to 2010, Ellis conducted his co-ed swim team at the pool at Philadelphia's La Salle University, and in the summer of 2008, taught swimming at Kelly Pool in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park. [14]

2007 Ellis biographical film, Pride opens

In 2007, the feature film Pride was released, which portrays Jim Ellis and his struggles to establish the PDR team. [10] [15] [16] The film was noted for having received an outstanding performance from lead actor Terrence Howard who played Ellis, but took criticism for its overuse of clichés typical of both sports movies and movies about race. [17] Tough, upbeat, and not looking for sympathy like his high achieving swimmers, Ellis noted that "nasty prejudice" resulting from encountering a "white coach with swimmers from the affluent suburbs" -- as depicted in the movie -- was not common, and that "in reality there was little of that sort of discrimination against his team." Nonetheless, Ellis did not deny the existence of some forms of prejudice. [10] [18]

SAKA swim coach, aquatics director

In Spring, 2010, the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center opened in Nicetown, Pennsylvania, the same city as Ellis's prior PDR swim team program at the public indoor Marcus Foster pool. The new Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center cost $108 million which included a $72 million grant from the Kroc Foundation, started by the family of Roy Kroc, particularly Kroc's third wife philanthropist Joan Kroc. $36.3 million was raised regionally from government and private funds. [19] Known as the Jimmy Moran Competition Pool, the 25 meter, 10 lane competition-grade pool was designed for recreational swimming lessons, water polo, and swim meets. Taking an early role, Ellis was influential in designing the pool at the center. [20] The movie Pride, released three years earlier, may have helped focus attention on Ellis's program, as the inclusion of a state-of-the-art swimming pool in the Kroc Center would become a boon for Ellis's swim club. [21]

Since late 2010, Ellis has remained the coach of the Salvation Army Kroc Aquatics (SAKA) program located in the Kroc Center. As of 2023, the pool and Ellis's Aquatics program has remained open and active nearly continuously, and Ellis's program is sometimes referred to as the Philadelphia Department of Recreation Swim Team, though it is no longer directly associated with the Department. [13] [22] By 2011, he had put together a competitive team of about 40 members, and also acted as the Aquatics Director. [23]

Awards and recognition

In May 2007, Ellis received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame. [24] 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. [25] [8] Ellis was inducted to the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2019. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Montgomery (swimmer)</span> American swimmer

James Paul Montgomery is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Montgomery was the first man to break the 50-second barrier (49.99) in the 100-meter freestyle, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, where he won three gold medals and one bronze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Salle College High School</span> School in Wyndmoor, Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States

La Salle College High School is a Catholic, all-male college preparatory school located in Wyndmoor, a community in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. La Salle is within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and is located roughly 10 miles northwest of Center City. The school is staffed by a lay faculty and the Christian Brothers. Its sports teams compete in the Philadelphia Catholic League and the PIAA’s twelfth district.

David Lee "Dave" Wharton is an American former competition swimmer, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. During his competition swimming career, Wharton set world records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Berkoff</span> American swimmer

David "Dave" Charles Berkoff is an American former competition Hall of Fame swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Berkoff was a backstroke specialist who won a total of four medals during his career at the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992. He is best known for breaking the world record for the 100-meter backstroke three times, beginning at the 1988 Olympic trial preliminaries, becoming the first swimmer to go under 55 seconds for the event. He is also remembered for his powerful underwater backstroke start, the eponymous "Berkoff Blastoff" which after a strong push-off from the side of the pool used a horizontal body position with locked arms outstretched overhead and an undulating or wavelike aerodynamic dolphin kick to provide thrust and build speed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2003 Pan American Games</span> International sporting event

The Swimming competition at the 14th Pan American Games was held August 12–18, 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The competition was held in the outdoor (50m) pool of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. It featured 32 long course (50m) events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Robie</span> American swimmer (1945–2011)

Carl Joseph Robie III was an American competitive swimmer, who swam for the University of Michigan and was first a silver medalist in the 1964 Olympics, and then a gold medalist in the 1968 Olympics. He was a three-time world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly, continuing to lower his times from 1961-63. After graduating Dickinson Law School around 1970, he practiced civil law in Sarasota, Florida.

<i>Pride</i> (2007 film) Movie based on swim coach Jim Ellis story

Pride is a 2007 American biographical film released by Lionsgate Entertainment on March 23, 2007. Loosely based upon the true story of Philadelphia swim coach James "Jim" Ellis, Pride stars Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, and Kimberly Elise. The film was directed by Sunu Gonera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Haines</span> American swimmer and coach (1924–2006)

George Frederick Haines was a competitive swimmer and coach who for twenty-three years coached the highly successful Santa Clara Swim Club which he founded in 1951. He later coached UCLA, Stanford University, and six U.S. Olympic swim teams. In 1977, he was inducted as an Honor Coach into the International Swimming Hall of Fame who later voted him "Coach of the Century" in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Glancy</span> American swimmer (1904–2002)

Harrison Smith Glancy was an American competition swimmer for Mercersburg Academy who won a gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay representing the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Glancy also represented the U.S. team in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenore Kight</span> American swimmer

Lenore M. Kight, known by her married name Lenore Wingard after 1935, was an American competition swimmer for the Carnegie Library Athletic fund and an Olympic medalist in the 400 meter freestyle who represented the United States at the 1932 Los Angeles and 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trees Hall</span>

Joseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. First opened in 1962 with a second phase of construction was completed in 1965, Trees Hall houses the School of Education's Department of Health and Physical Activity, various student recreation facilities, a pool that serves as the home to Pitt's varsity men's and women's swimming and diving teams, and the primary training facility for Pitt's varsity women's gymnastics team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Daland</span> American swimming coach

Peter Daland was an International Swimming Hall of Fame U.S. Olympic and collegiate swim coach from the United States, best-known for coaching the University of Southern California Trojans swim team to nine NCAA championships from 1957-1992. Daland started Philadelphia's Suburban Swim Club around 1950, an outstanding youth program, which he coached through 1955, then served briefly as an Assistant Coach at Yale from 1955-56, where he was mentored by Olympic Coach and long serving Yale Head Coach Bob Kiphuth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry Hills Aquatic Club</span> Former California swim team

The Industry Hills Aquatic Club(IHAC) was a prominent USA Swimming club located in the City of Industry, California, from 1979 until August 2005. For almost three decades, the Club was a successful training ground for a considerable number of athletes, some achieving success at the highest levels of the sport, both nationally and internationally, such as the olympic games. In addition to swimming, the organization included water polo and diving teams composed of athletes achieving similar success. The Aquatic Center's pools also served the community as a popular venue for high school swim meets, youth swim lessons, and U.S. Masters Swimming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Urbanchek</span> American swimming coach (1936–2024)

Jon Urbanchek was a Hungarian-born American swimming coach, best known for his 22-year tenure as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team of the University of Michigan from 1982 to 2004. He has served as a coach on multiple United States national swim teams, including the U.S. Olympic swim teams in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004, and as a special assistant in 2008 and 2012.

Aquademics was a Michigan nonprofit organization established in 1990 to increase the number and presence of African American children in competitive water sports. In addition to sponsoring a competitive swimming team, Aquademics operated an academic support program. Based in Ann Arbor, Aquademics programs were open to all youth of color, ages seven to sixteen, living in Washtenaw County. In operation throughout the 1990s, Aquademics formally disbanded at the turn of the 21st century.

Albert Marcus Wiggins Jr. was the first American swimmer to win Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championships in three strokes: butterfly, backstroke and freestyle. He set four world records in the 100-meter and 100-yard butterfly, and in total won eight AAU titles. He also participated in the 1956 Summer Olympics and finished seventh in the 100-meter backstroke event. Although he was recognized as a world top medley swimmer, this event became Olympic only in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Freeman (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 1933)

Mary Gray Freeman, also known by her former married name Mary Kelly, as Mary Freeman Kelly and by her subsequent married name Mary Spitzer, is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland in the 100-meter backstroke. After leaving competitive swimming in 1953, she became a Hall of Fame swim coach for Philadelphia's Vespar Boat Club from 1955-68 and coached the Women's Team at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. Recognized as one of the most outstanding women coaches of her era, in 1964 she was the first woman to be recommended as an American Olympic coach but declined the nomination, believing a man should take the honor as they were more reliant on earning wages to live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Jagenburg</span> American swimmer

Gregory "Greg" Jagenburg is an American former competition swimmer and a World Aquatics Champion in butterfly who swam for Long Beach State and the University of Arizona under Hall of Fame Coach Dick Jochums. In August 1975, Jagenburg swam a 2:00.73 in the 200-meter butterfly, just .03 seconds behind Mark Spitz's standing world record in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Meehan</span> American swimming coach

Greg Meehan is an American Olympic and College swimming coach, who has served as the women's head coach for the Stanford swim team since 2012, winning NCAA conference championships in 2017 and 2018. He was an Olympic Coach for the US Women's Olympic Swimming Team in 2016 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nude swimming in US indoor pools</span> Nudity in public indoor pools

Nude swimming in US indoor pools was common for men and boys from the late 1880s until the early 1970s, but rare for women and girls. For much of that time period, indoor pool use was primarily for physical education or athletic competition, not recreation. Male nude swimming had been customary in natural bodies of water, which was not viewed as a social problem until the 18th century. When the tradition of skinny-dipping in secluded spots had become more visible with urbanization, indoor pools were first built in the 19th century in part to address this issue by moving male swimming indoors. For the first decades of the 20th century, male nude swimming was associated with a trope of the "old swimming hole" as representing childhood innocence and adult masculinity. In their own classes, nudity was rare for girls based upon an assumption of modesty, but might include young children. Prepubescent boys might be nude in mixed-gender settings, including the presence of female staff, public competitions, and open houses for families. On such occasions swimmers might be nude while swimming, but wrap themselves in their towel otherwise.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jim Ellis, International Swimming Hall of Fame". www.ishof.org.
  2. ↑ "Beckman, Jacob, The Highland Park Pool: A Story of Activism, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1951". secretpittsburgh.pitt.edu.
  3. ↑ "Howard, Ellis feel film carries positive wave," by Monica Haynes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 23, 2007
  4. ↑ The Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame, compiled by Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 19, 2007
  5. 1 2 "Black History Month Trailblazers Jim Ellis". www.usaswimming.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  6. 1 2 Greenleese, Nancy (October 27, 2009). "Philadelphia Teacher Has Been Making Poor Black Kids Into Competitive Swimmers for 35 Years". Voice of America.
  7. ↑ "Trailblazers: Coach Jim Ellis". Swimming World Magazine. 2023-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  8. 1 2 "#30MostSwimfluential: Coach Jim Ellis". Swimming World News. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  9. ↑ McLane, Jeff, "Ellis's Story on Way to Silver Screen", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. C06, 25 April 2006
  10. 1 2 3 4 Greenleese, Nancy (2007-03-29). "The Teacher Behind the Movie 'Pride'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  11. ↑ "Ross, Andy, Jim Ellis Inducted into ASCA Hall of Fame". Swimming World Magazine. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  12. ↑ "Mike Norment Encourages His Community Through Swim With A Purpose Program". www.usaswimming.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  13. 1 2 Beck, Allison, "Philly's Indoor Pools a Travesty", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. C4, 15 June 2023
  14. ↑ "Brain Food, Influences, James O. Ellis", The Philadelphia Inquirer , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. C02, 13 July 2008
  15. ↑ elias, debbie lynn (2010-09-01). "PRIDE". Behind The Lens Online. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  16. ↑ Douglas, William (2014-05-26). "Myth-busters: Philadelphians shatter athletic stereotypes one game at a time". TheColorOfHockey. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  17. ↑ "Pride". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Silverman, Alan, Pride Tells the True Story of Swim Team's Success". VOA News.
  19. ↑ Heller, Karen, "Helping Hands for Nicetown", Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. B01, 7 August 2008
  20. ↑ "Black Kids Swim Interviews Jim Ellis". 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  21. ↑ "Pool Party", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, page D02, 29 December 2010
  22. ↑ USASwimming.org, An Interview with Jim Ellis: Part 1, by Mike Gustafson, February 1, 2012
  23. ↑ Clark, Vernon, "Haven and Magnet in North Phila.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. B02, 17 June 2011
  24. ↑ "ISHOF International Swimming Hall of Fame Presidential Honor Award". Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  25. ↑ Mills, Kyle (2015-07-31). "ISHOF's de Varona and Ellis Recognized As Leaders by USA Swimming and Speedo". ISHOF. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  26. ↑ "Jim Ellis Inducted into ASCA Hall of Fame (VIDEO)". Swimming World News. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.