With his two-set victory in Tuesday’s West Valley Division
Tournament final, Live Oak senior Johann Abordo moved to 19-0 on
the season and earned a spot in next week’s section
championships
MORGAN HILL — Both sides of a regulation badminton court measure 22 feet, and Johann Abordo makes sure his opponent gets familiar with each and every one of them.
Using his soft touch, speed, strength, endurance and devilish wit, the 5-foot-7 Live Oak senior has compromised foes with the greatest of ease in 2009, sculpting each match into a Machiavellian work of art.
First he breaks you down physically, then he defeats you mentally.
“He likes to grind out his opponent,” Abordo’s first-year coach, Bharat Poria, said. “He focuses on how he’s going to tire the other player out; how he’s going to exploit their weaknesses.”
With his two-set victory over Gilroy’s Hien Nguyen, 15-12, 15-2, in the West Valley Division Tournament final Thursday, the top-seeded Abordo completed a mosaic: a 19-0 record and entry to the CIF-Central Coast Section Championships.
“There wasn’t any moment I thought I was good this year,” Abordo said. “But, every month, I would say I’ve mastered something; I’ve stepped up another level. There are many levels to this game. I feel like I trained hard enough to earn this one.”
Abordo could not have been more prepared for Thursday’s championship against Nguyen. The lefty thwarted his over-sized opponent in each of their previous three matches this season, including a semifinals bout in the double-elimination tournament.
“The first time I played him, it was the longest game I’ve ever played,” Abordo said. “It was all mental — that’s pretty much my game.
“I pushed him today. I learned in that first game that if you push him to where he’s starting to gasp for breath, you’ve got him.”
The breaking point came in the first set, when Abordo rallied from a two-point deficit to pull even 11-all. He scored each point in the same manner, sending the shuttlecock to the back line and following with a soft drop shot, his trademark.
“His ability to control the birdie has really been paramount,” Abordo’s teammate, Sara Ann Garber, said. “When you can get to the bird, that’s a good thing. But when you can get to the bird and control and put it anywhere you want, that’s even better — that’s (another) level.”
Abordo went ahead 12-11 on a play that drew the afternoon’s loudest applause in Live Oak Gym. He won a 10-hit rally with a forehand shot that sent the birdie tumbling over the top of the net.
Nguyen smiled in frustration.
“When he gets his momentum right, it’s hard to get back in it,” Nguyen said. “He’s quick. He’s skilled. He’s left-handed — that makes playing him very difficult. He plays very unique.”
Taking heed of his coach’s advice after the first set, Abordo forced Nguyen’s backhand shot to dominate the second.
“If I play to his backhand, he goes back to the middle and he runs back. If I keep clearing to his back, it drains him mentally,” Abordo said. “Once your physical fails, your mental fails.”
As a freshman, Abordo joined the team because his brother was on it. Abordo’s agility compensated for his raw skills, which matured in time.
“He had a knack for the game right away. It helped that he was a good athlete to begin with,” said assistant coach Linda Seals, who was head coach at Live Oak before Poria. “He just needed to be a little more serious at practice and he would have this kind of year. Bharat has done a wonderful job with him.”
Poria, a badminton pundit who was once asked to coach the U.S. national time, targeted Abordo’s mental toughness when he took over the program.
“He gives it his all every point,” Poria said. “He flat out plays for every single point.
“He had the technical skills when I met him. I just needed to polish them up.”
Poria believes Abordo can excel at the collegiate level. Before that, though, Abordo just wants to win his first match at CCS, which begins Tuesday at Monte Vista High School.
“CCS is (another) game. It’s only the best,” he said. “I’ll be playing people from all over the Bay Area. I want to have success with my first game and see how far I can go.”
Abordo’s teammates joined him in turning around the program after a two-win 2008 season. The Acorns finished tied third in the division at 9-7.
Live Oak’s No. 1 girls single, junior Emily Mandel, placed third in the West Valley Tournament, and the Acorns’ top female pair of Jessica Liang and Kristen Pitsenbarger took fourth.
The 25-player badminton team had the highest cumulative GPA (3.72) among Live Oak’s teams. Abordo has a 3.6.
“That’s our proudest achievement this year,” Poria said. “The kids support each other in sport and school.”
