Jim Ellis (swimming coach)

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. He was influential in designing the pool at the center.

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

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

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. 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. 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. Ellis coached the PDR team from 1971 until 2010.

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.