Jack Ridley (swim coach)

Ridley's first and longest serving coaching position was with the Lake Washington Swim Club in the greater Seattle area, where he coached from 1971 to 1976, and then after a merger with Mercer Island's Chinook Swim Club around 1978 continued coaching the Chinook Club through 1995. He coached Olympian and World Record Holder Jo Harshbarger at Lake Washington Swim Club. While at Mercer Island's Chinook Swim Club, he coached Mary Wayte, an Olympic medalist, and also coached American National Champion Ugur Taner at Chinook.^[2] Ridley accompanied Harshbarger to the 1972 Montreal Olympics, and they were later married.^[5]

He was the girls' swimming coach at Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington from around 1974–1984, coaching a total of ten years. The Newport Girls' team won six consecutive Washington State Girls' Championship titles from 1976 to 1982, with Ridley continuing to coach the girls' team through at least 1984. He coached the boys' team at Newport for a period in the mid-70's. He coached the Mercer High School Boys' team from 1988 to 1995. In his swimming career, he managed, trained and mentored 54 All-American swimmers.^[2][12][13]

He served as the head coach of the Turkish men’s national swim team during the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.^[4]

Ridley coached American swimmers twice at World Swimming Championships and in a number of international competitions. As of 2012, he was living in Vancouver, Washington, and working as an Assistant Senior Coach at Portland Aquatic Club.^[3][2]

Ridley became a member of the Pacific Northwest Swimming Hall of Fame in 2004, and in 2007 became a member of the Washington Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He has also been honored with the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) David H. Robertson Excellence in Coaching Award.^[2][3]