Lillian Brabander, Millennium Hall of Fame

In terms of wins and losses, and CIF Southern Section and league

championships, no coach in Estancia High history can match Lillian

Brabander.

But Brabander, retired since 1992, could never be measured by

scoreboards and trophies, considering her enormous heart and warm

personality touched so many lives.

Brabander, who always knew where she stood regardless of the sport or

contest, believed it was all about the kids.

“Coaching’s a challenge -- you get feedback right away (from students)

on how you’re doing,” said Brabander, Estancia’s girls athletic director

for 27 years (unofficially, since CIF did not recognize girls sports

until 1972, following the Title IX gender-equality ruling).

One of the most successful coed badminton coaches in CIF annals,

Brabander guided Estancia to four CIF championships and six appearances

in CIF title matches.

“You don’t win if you don’t have the material,” she said. “If you’re a

good coach, the kids come to you.”

Brabander, who opened the school in 1965 after being “recruited” by

former Eagle Principal Floyd Harryman, ended her coaching career with a

bang, capturing back-to-back CIF titles in 1991 and ’92.

In Brabander’s final year, the Eagles also won four of the five

individual CIF championships, including the mixed doubles title by Chau

Nguyen and Doan Nguyen (no relation).

“They beat the junior national champions (Keppel’s Johnny Le and Nhi

Phung in the CIF finals),” Brabander said. “That was an achievement,

because that (Keppel mixed doubles) team had never lost before. I was so

proud of those kids. That was an upset, and they really won it, too

(15-12, 15-6).”

That spring, Danh Nguyen and Doan Linh won the CIF boys doubles title

for Estancia, while Eagles captured the girls doubles championship (Doan

Nguyen and Concha Gil) and boys singles title (Chau Nguyen).

“That was awesome,” said Brabander, whose teams in 1991 and ’92 never

lost, as she finished her 27-year badminton coaching career with a 329-28

record (a .922 winning percentage) and 14 league titles.

“With the (talent) we had, I don’t know how we lost 28 matches,” added

Brabander, whose longest winning streak was 40 in a row.

Brabander’s Eagles also won CIF championships in 1983 and ‘85, and

advanced to the finals in 1978 and ’84. She was also co-head coach of the

1979 girls tennis team that reached the CIF finals (losing to Corona del

Mar).

“I was really proud of that trophy,” said Brabander, who was hired by

Harryman in ’65 as the Estancia girls P.E. department chairman, in the

days of Girls Athletic Association (before Title IX).

Brabander, who was raised in sports but had never played badminton

before coaching at Estancia, began her teaching and coaching career in

Northern California, then landed at Orange High before getting

“recruited” to help open Villa Park High in the early 1960s.

She moved to Orange County from Palo Alto, where she met her husband,

Wayne, and earned her master’s degree in secondary education from

Stanford.

“It was a great time to be at Stanford, because there were very few

females at the time,” Brabander said. “The ratio (of men to women) was 8

to 1 ... what a great school. But those days are long gone. Stanford had

a lot of men, instead of young guys, because they were all coming back

from the wars, like Korea.”

Wayne, a retired scientist from the pharmaceutical industry, and

Lillian, 67, play tennis every morning. “We have a lifetime tournament

going on,” she said.

Brabander, who these days volunteers for the Fountain Valley Fire

Department and at the UCI Arboretum, will always be synonymous with

Estancia, where some of her coaches included Lisa McNamee, Joe Wolfe,

Frank Braatz, Joan Carlisle, Cheryl Hirtler and Tom Pestolesi.

Bill Wetzel, Estancia’s former boys basketball coach and assistant

principal, was also a big influence on Brabander. She also admired former

Principal Bob Francy, and said longtime athletic secretary Jan Buday was

invaluable.

Brabander grew up in St. Louis, which, at the time, had “a very

inclusive athletic structure for kids,” because of money left over from

the world’s fair. Of all the sports, volleyball was her favorite.

A graduate of Harris Teachers College in St. Louis, Brabander started

teaching in Redwood City, where she stayed one year, then moved on to

Palo Alto. She took some time off, got her master’s at Stanford and

“married my sweetie.” They moved when her husband accepted a job in

Orange County.

Brabander is the latest member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

celebrating the millennium.