Brande Gets OK to Return, but Is Undecided

Charlie Brande, former Corona del Mar High School girls’ and boys’ volleyball coach, has agreed not to coach in the Southern Section for the 1990-91 school year, but is free to return the following season, Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas said Tuesday.

Brande and Thomas met for 90 minutes Tuesday to discuss alleged violations of Southern Section rules by the coach.

Brande was suspended in August in the wake of an investigation into his coaching of club team players with high school eligibility remaining. Corona del Mar went on to win the Southern Section 5-A and State Division I titles.

Brande said Tuesday he is unsure if he will return to coaching at the high school level.

“There’s a possibility I could return to Corona del Mar or any other high school,” Brande said, “or it might be time to move on to coaching a college team.”

Brande and Thomas also discussed “gray areas” in the eligibility guidelines for club coaches who also coach high school teams. Brande, chairman of the ethics committee for the U.S Volleyball Assn., said he will distribute clarifications of the rules to the club coaches.

“There was a very strong spirit of cooperation with Charlie to work within the framework of the rules,” Thomas said. “This thing is over. Finally.”