VIDEO MEMORIAL TRIBUTE: Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Honors Eastern Florida Coach Jim Grimes

Passed Away at 45 Years Old

ABOVE VIDEO: A Titan left us when Jim Grimes passed away January 30, 2017. The popular coach of Eastern Florida State College’s women’s basketball team, Grimes was only 45 years old.

GOD CALLED GRIMES TO COACH

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – A Titan left us when Jim Grimes passed away January 30, 2017. The popular coach of Eastern Florida State College’s women’s basketball team, Grimes was only 45 years old.

The Greenville, North Carolina, native joined EFSC in 2010, taking over the women’s basketball program in 2013 and leading them to Southern Conference titles and NJCAA Regional 8/FCSAA tournaments the past two seasons. Basketball was his passion and his ministry.
“He grew up around basketball,” said his widow, Haley.

In 1995, straight out of Covenant College in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Grimes, who had considered becoming a pastor, was tapped to be program director for the YMCA.

“He had no inkling that God was going to call him to coach,” said Haley Grimes.

In 2002, Grimes was recruited as athletic director and varsity boy’s basketball coach by Covenant Christian School in Palm Bay, where he remained for eight years.

“He really gave cohesiveness to the program,” added Grimes.

EFSC, then Brevard Community College, invited Grimes to be assistant coach with the men’s program before taking over as coach for the women’s program. Basketball for Grimes was always a conduit for learning important life lessons.

“He saw the game of basketball as a way to strengthen the character of his players and put them on the road to living good lives,” said EFSC president Dr. Jim Richey.

Grimes was both a great coach, but most importantly, he was a great human being, who considered his players lifelong friends.

“He stayed in touch with all his players even after they left school,” said Richey. “He would call them the night before a big game to encourage them and made a point of going to visit them at their schools.”

Grimes joked that he had never worked a day in his life, because as he would put it, if you loved what you did for a living, you weren’t working.

“He would tell his players to find something they were good at and to go with it,” said his wife, Haley.

TEAM HONORS BELOVED COACH

Two of his four daughters are already following their father’s footsteps. Emma, the oldest, plays basketball at Grimes’ old home court, Covenant College.

Georgia, 17, will be playing basketball at EFSC. Sophie and Charlotte are more into softball, and Coach Grimes would have approved, for he believed it is not the specific sport that matters, but rather your passion for whatever game you prefer.

The first game after Grimes passed away, the Lady Titans paid tribute to their beloved coach by walking to the center of the court united with locked arms, then proceeding to soundly defeat ASA Miami in a Southern Conference game 88-51. After the final buzzer, the players one by one hugged the Grimes family.

Haley Grimes knows that from his perch in heaven, Coach Jim would have been beaming.

“He was one of the godliest people I’ve ever met,” she said.

CLICK HERE to see all the members of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

THE 2017 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 12. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS 

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT the 2017 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME, call 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com

Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Announced, Induction Ceremony Set May 12

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced Thursday an impressive array of outstanding individuals to be inducted into the 2017 Class of the Hall of Fame.

Dozens of nominees were considered for the 2017 class in four categories including professional sports, college sports, high school sports and amateur sports.

Special honorary recognition will also be bestowed upon individuals and teams that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and has so far inducted more than 100 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches and sports personalities.

Serving on the committee are Space Coast Daily President & Publisher Tom Palermo, Vice President Giles Malone, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jim Palermo, Managing Editor Zach Clark, Assistant Editor Alan Zlotorzynski, local youth sports advocate and promoter Mike Cadore, Friday Night Locker Room Founders Steve Wilson and Orville Susong, former Health First COO Larry Garrison, Cocoa Beach City Manager Jim McKnight and AAU Vice President Rusty Buchanan.

“The list of inductees for 2017 induction include athletes and coaches everybody knows – and some that may have been forgotten with the passing of time,” said Tom Palermo.

INDUCTION GALA & SPORTS AWARDS SET FOR MAY 12

The 2017 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Sports Awards will be held Friday, May 12 at the Cocoa Beach County Club.

The festivities include a meet and greet with the area’s sports royalty, dinner and the induction proceeding which includes compelling video tributes of each of the inductees.

The 2017 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event, and the 2017 High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards, are sponsored by Community Credit Union, First Choice Medical Group, SOAR, Clear Choice Health Care, BioCellular Therapies, Savings Safari, Spectrum Sports, Friday Night Locker Room, Dr. Sangiv Patel, Dr. Mark Pinsky and Rock Paper Simple..

FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, or to make a reservation, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-615-8111.

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Tim Wakefield talks about his induction into the first class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2017

• PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES:  Joe Kohlbrand, Football; and Cory Philpot, Football

• COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jason Arnold, Baseball; Michael Coffey, Bowling; Reggie Hannah, Basketball;  Paige Kearns, Swimming; and Charles Wilson, Football.

• PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Kristen Gordon, Softball; Ray Herring, Jr. Football; Katie Jackson, Soccer; and Hunter Pingston, Football.

• AMATEUR/REC CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Richard Chapman, Little League; Todd Erickson, Softball; Al Genchi, Youth Soccer; and David Kilgore, Running.

• COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Skip Arrich, Soccer; Tom Dooley, Baseball; Chuck Keener, Tennis; Steve Lamontagne, Golf; and Mike Soliven, Basketball.

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEES: Jeff Carr, Eastern Florida State College; and Steve Englehart, Florida Tech.

• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Linda Anderson, Athletic Director; and Les Stafford, Volunteer

• SPORTS OFFICIALS INDUCTEES: Neely Dunn and Bob Walton.

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Hillard Grossman.

• SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE : Gary Gregory, PAL Boxing.

• CHALLENGER AWARDS INDUCTEES: Brevard Special Olympics – Coach Cindy Dropeski, Athlete Chuck Conway and Volunteer Kathi Madden.

• TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa High School 2016 Football State Champions.

• SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Jim Grimes, Basketball, Eastern Florida State College

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CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

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