Frank Elm

Early swimming and instructing Elm was born in New Jersey on October 30, 1929, and grew up as a native of Paterson. In March 1949, swimming for the Paterson YMCA, he also won the Junior Men's 120-yard medley event at a New Jersey AAU championship with a time of 1:19.6.

Diverse in his stroke skills, in March 1949, he won the Junior 150-yard individual medley at an AAU meet in Newark, New Jersey with a time of 1:43.4. In the summer of 1951, Elm served as a Swimming Instructor at a YMCA Camp at Spring Lake in Wycoff, New Jersey, and became a certified swimming instructor. Royer had coached Indiana since 1931, until becoming ill in 1957 when he was replaced by Hall of Fame Coach Doc Counsilman, who had served as an Assistant Coach by 1957.

Elm served for three years in the United States Marine Corps and was a lieutenant. He became a swimmer/coach in the Marine Corps.

Elm taught at Memorial Junior High in Fairlawn, New Jersey before coaching Rutgers.

Coaching Rutgers Replacing Men's Coach Otto Hill, Elm coached Rutgers teams from 1961 though 1993, simultaneously for a period with his AAU age group team, the Scarlet Jets, known as the Central Jersey Swim Club in the early 70's. From 1961 through 1972, his Rutger's men's team captured 11 consecutive winning seasons, achieving an overall record of 79–42. After 1972, the Men's team had significantly fewer wins with mostly losing seasons.

Elm started the Rutger's Women's team, coaching them from 1974 through 1993 simultaneously with the Men's team. Judy Melick, from the class of 1977 was the first woman to swim for Rutgers. Impressively, Elm's women's team started with three successive undefeated seasons from 1975 to 1977, and dominated the Eastern Championships. At the 1977 National Championships, they became the only Eastern team in the East to place in the top ten. Elm worked with 1964 Tokyo Olympian Phil Riker in the 200-meter butterfly, another native of Paterson, New Jersey. As mentioned later here, Elm also worked for many years with 1972 Munich Olympic competitor in the 400-meter medley relay Judy Melick.

Men The Eastern Seaboard Championships, created in 1965 improved Rutger's Athletics, with the contributions of top swimming performers Bill Clark in 1963, Larry Jones and John Wasylyk in 1964, Don Galluzzi, and Marty Flickenger in 1965, and diver Roy Nicholas, an Eastern Champion, in 1964. Fifteen of Elm's Rutger's women were the recipients of All-American honors, many becoming stars. Top women swimmers for Rutgers coached by Elm included Ellen Wallace, a 1972 Olympic trial qualifier and a swimmer at the 1975 World Championships and Pan Am Game, Debbie Franks, Maureen Mortell and Robin Locklair.

Honors Elm was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. In a more uncommon distinction, in 1973, he was a recipient of the Master Coaches Award from the Swimming Coaches’ Association of America in 1973. Rutger's annual “Frank Elm Invitational” swim tournament named in his honor was hosted through 2017. In 1965, Elm was appointed to the Selection and Nominating Committee for Fort Lauderdale's Swimming Hall of Fame.

He died on the evening of November 30, 2021, in New Jersey at the age of 92.