ALL-COUNTY BADMINTON PLAYERS OF THE YEAR : There’s No Stopping Pak, Poyyak This Summer : Boys: Dedication and nose-to-grindstone attitude make the difference for Corona del Mar junior.

Off the court, Corona del Mar’s Jerome Poyyak is easy-going and fun.

On the court, it’s a different matter.

“When I play, I’m hard-headed and stubborn,” said Poyyak, The Times Orange County boys’ badminton player of the year. “I get serious because I want to win.

The Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde act has worked successfully for the junior this season. He finished with a 28-2 singles record, reached the semifinals of the Southern Section individuals and won the Alhambra Tournament title. In team competition, Poyyak was undefeated in the playoffs, leading the Sea Kings to the semifinals of the Division I playoffs. They lost to eventual champion Alhambra Keppel.

However, there’s no time to relish or relax. Poyyak is already preparing for next season. Only a week after the season ended for the Sea Kings, he returned to the gym.

“I’m trying to get a few more of the players to keep playing with me over the summer,” Poyyak said. “I want to see if some people will enter (summer) tournaments with me.

“I want to keep playing because next year I want to win.”

For someone as laid-back as Poyyak, his dedication to badminton is almost surprising.

“He doesn’t take a lot of things seriously, but badminton is one of the things that he does,” teammate Kristy Macfarland said. “He wants to do so well.”

Poyyak became interested in badminton during his sophomore year and he reached the semifinals of the Southern Section tournament. After that season, he began training seriously with Sea King assistant coach Chau Nguyen, the 1992 Southern Section singles champion from Estancia.

“The thing that motivated me was after I started training, I noticed the big difference in my game and I wanted to see how far I could go in the sport,” Poyyak said.

At first, Poyyak had difficulty getting other players to take him seriously. Few non-Asians have dominated the sport.

“Because I’m white (other players) don’t take me seriously,” Poyyak said. “If I play well, they will take me seriously. I want to show that it’s not a one-race sport.”

Another hurdle for Poyyak is his academic performance. He was academic ineligibility the first part of this season.

“I guess I was really excited to play this season and I didn’t really think about my grades,” Poyyak said. “I was thinking about practicing and playing.”

So there will be not one, but two things on Poyyak’s agenda during the off-season.

“My goal is to get good grades and play every tournament,” Poyyak said. “I want it to be easy for me next year. I don’t want anyone to even come close to me.”

All-County Badminton Team

FIRST TEAM

Name (Boys) School Yr. Season highlight Jerome Poyyak Corona del Mar Jr. 28-2, reached individual semifinals Edward Quan Costa Mesa Sr. 22-0 in league, reached individual quarterfinals Jeremy Sandy Marina Sr. 29-4, reached semifinals in doubles Alan Huang Marina Jr. Teamed with Sandy to reach doubles semifinals

Name (Girls) School Yr. Season highlight Judy Pak Garden Grove Jr. 46-8, was Garden Grove league champion Ying Chansawangpuvana Katella Jr. 40-7, reached individual quarterfinals Pam Tang La Habra Sr. 34-4, reached individual quarterfinals Kristy Nguyen Costa Mesa Sr. 18-4 in league, reached individual quarterfinals

SECOND TEAM

Name (Boys) School Yr. Season highlight Dung Cu Garden Grove Jr. 38-6, led team to Division I finals David Nguyen Garden Grove Jr. Teamed with Cu to win league doubles title Mike Truong Estancia Sr. 12-2, reached quarterfinals in doubles Allan Tram Estancia Sr. Teamed with Truong to reach doubles quarterfinals

Name (Girls) School Yr. Season highlight Thuy Nguyen Santa Ana Sr. 29-3, reached individual quarterfinals Vo Nguyet Bolsa Grande Sr. 10-1, reached individual doubles semifinals Hoang Nguyet Bolsa Grande Jr. She and Vo Nguyet reached doubles semifinals Michelle Bui Marina Jr. 25-4, reached individual second round