Ex-Corona del Mar Standout Wants to Reach Best of Beach : Volleyball: Newcomer Brian Lewis could on the brink of the big time on professional tour.

He hasn’t quite reached the upper crust of professional beach volleyball, that select group of prominent players who earn six-figure incomes and grace the ads in those slick volleyball magazines, but Brian Lewis still has a good thing going.

“Right now, it’s not a bad summer job for a 23-year-old kid,” said Lewis, a former standout at Corona del Mar High School and Orange Coast College. “I don’t know any other 23-year-olds who make $30,000 in six months and have a good time doing it.”

Lewis, who is competing in this weekend’s Manhattan Beach Open, is in his second season on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour.

His $14,550 in 1990 winnings and $16,206 so far in 1991 won’t put him near Sinjin Smith’s tax bracket, but Lewis, who will begin his junior year at USC this fall, has made considerable strides in a short span.

He finished his rookie season ranked 32nd among 200 AVP players and is currently ranked 29th. He has one of the best jump serves on the tour and has developed a reputation as one of the sport’s up-and-coming young players.

“He’s one of the guys who will take the sport a long way,” said Randy Stoklos, Smith’s partner and one of the tour’s top players. “His day will come. He’s putting in his time now.”

Lewis is doing what he can to make time fly. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder moved in March from Newport Beach, where there’s only a handful of pro players, to Santa Monica, where there are as many as 20 pros to provide a full stable of workout partners and good practice competition.

Lewis has also cut back on his favorite sport, surfing, to devote more time to volleyball. He used to surf every day when the waves were good and play volleyball twice during the week.

Now, he plays volleyball at least four days during the week, sometimes as much as six hours a day, and he doesn’t catch nearly as many waves.

“Surfing probably drained some of my energy and took away from my practice time,” Lewis said. “I’m a lot more intense about my practices now, and the work has paid off. I’ve definitely improved this year.”

Lewis, who helped Corona del Mar win the Southern Section 4-A championship in 1985 and Orange Coast win State community college titles in 1987 and ‘89, has been playing beach volleyball for only four years, a factor that works for and against him.

“It’s good because the burnout factor isn’t high--I love the game,” Lewis said. “Some of these guys have been playing their whole lives and don’t even like going down to the beach. It’s a job to them.”

But some of those guys, despite their indifference toward the sport, can beat players such as Lewis on experience alone.

“Everyone out there is physically blessed, but the guys who are winning are so mentally tough,” Lewis said. “Knowing what to do and when to do it is 90% of the game. I’m still learning. I have no idea how long it will take to mature, but I think I’m on a good course.”

Stoklos, who with Smith has advanced to the finals in 14 of 15 tournaments this year, is giving Lewis some direction. He has been working out with Lewis this year, primarily on the mental phase of the game.

“We talk about how to play certain teams, what to do at certain times, how to keep momentum on your side,” Stoklos said. “You can’t just pick it up immediately. It’s a matter of putting in the time.”

Lewis seems willing to work, and that’s one reason Stoklos, 30, likes Lewis’ future.

“He reminds me of myself at that age,” Stoklos said. “He’s very competitive in everything he does and he’s going for No. 1. That’s the kind of person you want to be around.”

Much of Lewis’ future, though, will hinge on the players around him. In less than two seasons, Lewis has already played with six partners, including his present teammate, Owen McKibbin, who is ranked 31st on the AVP list.

Lewis has had some success--his teams have finished as high as fifth three times, and he has made money at every tournament. Generally, the top 17 finishers earn cash prizes.

But Lewis and McKibbin can only go so far, Lewis said.

“Owen and I have been pretty consistent, but we’re not going to win a tournament together,” Lewis said. “We’re both about the same size, and we both need (to play with) someone bigger to win a tournament.”

Beach volleyball has a peculiar pecking order. The best players--guys such as Karch Kiraly, Tim Hovland, Kent Steffes and Steve Timmons--have their pick of teammates and gobble up most of the prize money. The younger players toil for little money but hope their play attracts the interest of the superior players.

“It’s all show and tell,” Lewis said. “You’ve got to prove yourself to play with the better players.”

Lewis appears to be on that threshold between the sport’s elite players and those on the second rung.

“There are a lot of guys who talk about Brian, wondering whether they should play with him or not,” Stoklos said. “But Brian will have to win with a lesser player first. When that happens, doors will open for him.”