Did Archdiocese of Miami Lie About Timing of Alex Pussieldi’s Departure From Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School?

Archdiocese of Miami: ‘Mr. Pussieldi Didn’t Wish to Continue Coaching at the High School Level’
March 7, 2014
Two Stages of Complaints About Swim Coach Alex Pussieldi Evident in Records Released by City of Fort Lauderdale
March 8, 2014

by Irvin Muchnick and Tim Joyce

 

We were confused by Archdiocese of Miami media coordinator Juan Di Prado’s statement to us yesterday regarding Alex Pussieldi’s departure from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. Di Prado seemed to be fusing Pussieldi’s ultimate resignation or dismissal in 2007 (the year of the “information packet” to Fort Lauderdale city officials) with the leave of absence Pussieldi took in 2004 (the year of the police and USA Swimming investigation of his alleged attack on a Mexican swimmer at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex).

But we couldn’t put our finger on the possible contradiction, since Pussieldi’s bio at his now-defunct Davie Nadadores club website (which itself is hyped and open to question) was no longer readily accessible. Content at the site went blank in recent weeks, seven months or so after Pussieldi announced his “retirement” from coaching.

With the help of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, we now have called up a December 2013 snapshot of the old website. The Pussieldi bio there is reproduced at the bottom of this post. For future reference, we also have uploaded the bio at http://muchnick.net/pussieldibio.pdf.

Pussieldi was claiming two stints with St. Thomas Aquinas. One, as head coach, ended in 2004. A second, as “co-head coach,” ran from 2005 to 2007.

We are asking the archdiocese for clarification of their earlier statement. Our suggestion had been that St. Thomas Aquinas was remiss in accepting Pussieldi’s resignation in 2004 while simply, and secretly, foisting him back onto the rest off the South Florida youth swimming community. But this is even worse: an indication that the high school returned Pussieldi in good graces at its own institution.

Complete links to Concussion Inc.’s Pussieldi investigation are at https://concussioninc.net/?p=8652.

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ALEX PUSSIELDI

Owner and Head Coach | [email protected]

Coach Alex Pussieldi is originally from Brazil where attended University of Rio Grande do Sul (Journalism) and University of Pernambuco (Physical Education).

Former Junior National Coach of Brazil from 1995 to 1997, and responsible for more then 90 national age group champions in Brazil and several national records. After a very succesfull coaching career in his country, Coach Alex move to United States where has been one of the most active coaches in South Florida.

Coaching Career:
1989 to 1995 – Head Coach at Clube Portugues do Recife, Brazil
1996 to 1998 – Head Coach at Duvel Natacao, Brazil
1999 to 2004 – Head Age Group Coach at Fort Lauderdale Swim Team
2002 to present – Head National Coach Kuwait Swim Team
2003 to 2009 – Head Coach at Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club Florida Summer League
2001 to 2005 – Head Coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School Boys Swimming & Diving Team
2005 to 2007 – Co-Head Coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School Boys Swimming & Diving Team
2004 to 2008 – Senior Coach at Pine Crest Swim Club
2008 to present – Head Coach Davie Nadadores Swim Club
2010 to present – Head Coach of University School, High School and Middle School Swim Team

Coaching accomplishments:
15 State Titles in Brazil
3 National Club Titles in Brazil
2 times South American Champion with Brazilian National Team
16 times Gulf Champion with Kuwait National Team
5 times Florida High School State Champion with St. Thomas Aquinas High School
4 times South Florida Coach of the Year from Sun Sentinel
3 times South Florida Coach of the Year from Miami Herald
2 times Coach of the Year from Dairy Farmers
2 times Olympic Coach

International participation:
1995, 1996, 1997 Europe Youth Multinations Swimming Championship
1993, 1995, 1997 South American Junior Championship
2003, 2004 FINA World Cup in New York
2004 World Short Course Championship in Indianapolis
2005 World Championship in Montreal, Canada
2005 FINA World Cup in New York
2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar
2006 FINA Youth World Swimming Championship in Rio, Brazil
2007 Pan American Games in Rio, Brazil
2008 FINA Youth World Swimming Championship in Monterrey, Mexico
2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China
2009 FINA World Swimming Championship in Rome, Italy
2009 Youth Asian Olympic Games in Singapore
2010 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2011 FINA World Swimming Championship in Shanghai, China
2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico
2011 FINA Youth World Swimming Championship in Lima, Peru
2011 Pan Arabic Games in Doha, Catar
2012 South American Swimming Championship in Belem, Brazil
2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Great Britain

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Concussion Inc. - Author Irvin Muchnick