Walmer Still a Force on Beach

It was 1979 and Tim Walmer of Manhattan Beach had reached the summit of beach volleyball.

He had earned his AAA rating on the California Beach Volleyball Assn. circuit--which in those days was the pinnacle of the sport.

That was, of course, before television coverage and beer sponsorship drove the tour’s purses into today’s six-figure range. It was even before the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals existed.

“There were very few events that had money attached,” Walmer said. “You could play on the tour all year and you were still really only playing for a rating.”

Walmer was a 19-year-old freshman at San Diego State when he got his AAA rating.

In those days, if Walmer won any money on the beach circuit, he’d simply have a friend cash his checks.

In today’s game, top professionals earn between $50,000 to $150,000 a year. The next level of players earn enough on weekends to live comfortably.

Walmer, 30, fits neatly into that second tier.

A 13-year veteran of the beach tour, Walmer has earned more than $100,000 in his career.

Add that to Walmer’s salary as a substitute teacher in the L.A. Unified School District, and you have a very happy bachelor residing in his native Manhattan Beach.

“Actually, I’m ecstatic with my lifestyle,” Walmer said. “Teaching and beach volleyball complement each other so perfectly for me. How many other jobs let you dictate to your employer when you can work?”

Walmer earned his emergency teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach in 1984. He teaches kindergarten through sixth grade in a region that stretches from San Pedro to Gardena.

“It keeps me perpetually young,” he said.

Which is good, since Walmer’s rivals on the pro beach tour are getting younger and younger--like 22-year-old phenom Kent Steffes, the circuit’s No. 6 prize money winner this season.

Still, Walmer finds himself ranked 15th in the AVP standings going into this weekend’s tournament in Chicago. Playing almost exclusively with his longtime partner--San Diego’s Al Janc--Walmer has earned more than $25,000 this season.

At 6-foot, 170 pounds, Walmer is one of the tour’s smallest pros.

He doesn’t have the 6-5 frame and long arms of Mike Dodd, the amazing quickness of Karch Kiraly, or the tremendous leaping ability of Brent Frohoff.

But he does have desire. Walmer still practices four hours a day, four days a week, on Manhattan Beach’s venerable Marine Street courts.

“I have to work harder than everyone else on the tour, given my size,” Walmer said. “I’ve got to be crafty.”

Walmer has earned a reputation on the tour as a cunning veteran, a nifty back-row player and a ball-control specialist. Walmer plays the right side of the court and the 6-2 Janc does most of the team’s blocking.

“Tim is one of the most hard-working guys on the beach,” veteran pro Tim Hovland said. “He uses all his ability to get his finishes. He might not be the 6-5 bomber, but he’s a great all-around competitor. He loves the game, and it shows.”

And he has learned to adjust to changing styles of play. Size wasn’t as important when Walmer first started out on the tour, when players would try to wear down opponents by siding out endlessly.

Today’s emphasis has shifted to blocking as an offensive weapon. But Walmer and Janc--one of the tour’s shortest teams--are still producing.

On June 24, they finished second to Larry Mear and Scott Friedrichsen at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A week later, Walmer and Janc came in fourth in the tour’s most prestigious event, the Manhattan Beach Open. At Manhattan Beach, Walmer and Janc kept scoring upsets through the consolation bracket, and extended second-seeded Hovland and Dodd to 15-10 in the consolation semifinals.

The finish was especially sweet for Walmer, who had signed with Off Shore sportswear--the tournament’s sponsor--as his personal sponsor two weeks before.

Plus about 30 of Walmer’s friends were watching as one of Manhattan Beach’s local boys worked his way through the brackets.

Walmer was an All-CIF volleyball player at Mira Costa High in 1978, two years before Mike Cook--California’s winningest prep coach in the sport--took over at the school. He went on to San Diego State and later transferred to Cal State Long Beach, where he was a two-time All-American in volleyball.

But it was Walmer’s love for the beach game that has taken him around the globe.

In early 1987, Walmer and veteran Jon Stevenson played a tournament on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro--in the middle of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. Walmer remembers a huge stadium packed with adoring fans despite 110-degree weather and almost 100% humidity.

But mostly, he remembers the adulation he received from the volleyball-crazy Brazilians.

“People would stop and ask me for autographs when I was walking down the street,” Walmer said.

Walmer’s flexible schedule allowed him to take time off from substitute teaching in the winter for the trip to Brazil. He figures he’ll juggle careers for about five or six more years before concentrating on teaching full-time.

“Unless I slip much below the level that I’m at, I’m going to keep playing,” Walmer said. “As long as I’m having fun and making dough I’m going to keep on doing it.”