Pool in Georgia Named After Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsdoctormd\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3\"},\"headline\":\"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\"},\"wordCount\":423,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Curtis Lovejoy\",\"Diversity in Aquatics\",\"Naomi Grand-Pierre\",\"Sabir Muhammad\",\"Tommie Lee Jackson\",\"Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\"],\"articleSection\":[\"USA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\",\"name\":\"Pool in Georgia Named After Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Andy Ross\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3\",\"name\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\"},\"description\":\"Matthew De George is the Americas Correspondent for Swimming World Magazine. He's the author of two books on swimming, Duels in the Pool and Pooling Talent. He's also the assistant sports editor for the Delaware County Daily Times in Pennsylvania, where he covers high school and college sports as well as the Philadelphia Union. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and The Athletic.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.swimmingworld.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/sportsdoctormd\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/mattdg\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pool in Georgia Named After Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","description":"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","og_description":"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sportsdoctormd","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/"},"author":{"name":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3"},"headline":"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","datePublished":"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/"},"wordCount":423,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","keywords":["Curtis Lovejoy","Diversity in Aquatics","Naomi Grand-Pierre","Sabir Muhammad","Tommie Lee Jackson","Tommie Lee Jackson Jr."],"articleSection":["USA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/","name":"Pool in Georgia Named After Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-08T17:17:58+00:00","description":"A pool complex in Moultrie, Georgia., this week was named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","width":900,"height":675,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Andy Ross"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3","name":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer"},"description":"Matthew De George is the Americas Correspondent for Swimming World Magazine. He's the author of two books on swimming, Duels in the Pool and Pooling Talent. He's also the assistant sports editor for the Delaware County Daily Times in Pennsylvania, where he covers high school and college sports as well as the Philadelphia Union. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and The Athletic.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.swimmingworld.com","https:\/\/x.com\/sportsdoctormd"],"url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/mattdg\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20180702_120118-e1542301872812.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-2zPA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":614404,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614394\/revisions\/614404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":614394,"date":"2025-06-08T10:17:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T17:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=614394"},"modified":"2025-06-08T10:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T17:17:58","slug":"pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pool-in-georgia-named-after-pioneering-coach-tommie-lee-jackson-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Pool in Georgia Named After Pioneering Coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A pool in Moultrie, Ga., this week was named for Hall of Fame coach Tommie Lee Jackson Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tommie Lee Jackson Jr. Aquatic Center was dedicated in northwest Moultrie on Thursday<\/a>. The pool, opened in 1959, is located near where Jackson grew up in Southern Georgia. From his swimming roots in area ponds, Jackson became a hall of fame coach whose pupils include Sabir Muhammad<\/strong> and Paralympic gold medalist Curtis Lovejoy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jackson was inducted to the Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was something about that water,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is where I learned to swim, to compete and where I learned to teach swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson attended William Bryant High School, playing football and basketball as well as his interest in aquatics. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam for three years before attending Albany State, where he lettered in swimming and diving. He received his master\u2019s degree in education at Georgia State and has worked as a teacher for many years.<\/p>\n

He began coaching at age 40. He remains an active coach, working with age-group, senior, Paralympic and Masters swimmers. At Albany State, he said he was inspired by instructor Wilburn Campbell<\/strong> to continue in coaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe believed in me,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe gave me the opportunity to be a competitive diver at age 25.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson became an assistant coach for the Atlanta Dolphins in 1986, rising to head coach three years later. He began working with Atlanta native Lovejoy there. Lovejoy went on to win two gold medals at the 2000 Paralympics, then silver and bronze in Athens four years later. The two maintained their coaching relationship for 36 years. Lovejoy was inducted to the Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2023.<\/p>\n

Among Jackson\u2019s other pupils were Olympic Trials qualifiers Muhammad, Muhajid El Amin, Derek Cox<\/strong> and Miles Simon<\/strong>. He coached Haitian Olympian Naomi Grand-Pierre,<\/strong> earning him head coaching duties at the 2016 Olympics for the country, as well as renowned Masters swimmers Marianne Countryman.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jackson has won many awards for his coaching. In 2016, he received<\/a> USA Swimming\u2019s Diversity and Inclusion Award. In 2020, he received<\/a> the Jim Ellis Diversity in Aquatics Award. Jackson has chaired the Georgia LSC\u2019s Diversity Committee since its formation.<\/p>\n

In addition to coaching, Jackson has been a teacher at the elementary and middle school levels and a university professor. He was joined at the dedication by his wife, Delores, with whom he has raised five children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"