Name Jim Ellis | Role Coach | |
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Education Cheyney University of Pennsylvania | ||
Jim ellis salvation army kroc aquatics team
James Ellis (born 1948) is an American swim coach and subject of the feature film Pride.
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In 1971, Ellis formed the PDR (Pride, Determination, Resilience or Philadelphia Department of Recreation) swim team which was the first African-American swim team and located at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Nicetown, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood in Philadelphia. As of February 2007, Ellis still coaches swimming at the Marcus Foster pool and had begun a sabbatical from teaching mathematics at Bodine High School.
Ellis' protégés include Michael Norment, the first black swimmer on the U.S. national team. His program at the Marcus Foster pool has sent swimmers to the swimming trials for every U.S. Olympic team since 1992.
In May 2007, Ellis received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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.
Ellis graduated from Westinghouse High School of Pittsburgh Public Schools in Pennsylvania. His name is on the Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame.