White Isn't Too Young to Hang 10

By ERIK HAMILTON and WENDY WITHERSPOON

July 5, 1996 12 AM PT

Brendan White is right at home riding the nose of his nine-foot surfboard. That’s his favorite move as he catches the wave and gracefully walks to the nose of his waxed board, hangs his toes and strikes the pose.

From the shore, there’s nothing like watching this classic surfing style--like the old days when David Nuuhiwa, Phil Edwards and Corky Carroll used to draw stares.

At 16, White of San Clemente is carrying on the tradition of classic longboarding. Though a bit younger than the current batch of talent such as Joel Tudor of San Diego, Bonga Perkins of Honolulu, Colin McPhillips of Capistrano Beach and Josh Baxter, Michael Gee and Geoff Moysa of San Clemente, White still values the history of longboarding.

“I have a deep appreciation for both the tradition and gracefulness of the sport,” White said. “But I can also appreciate what the new high performance boards are able to do. And when I see things being done on these boards that elude me, I like to watch that.”

White’s surfing buddies and competitors might find it hard to believe any move on a longboard could elude him, but White said he would love to perform some good power turns and floaters.

White started surfing when he was 6 and his dad, Bob, took him to Old Man’s and Dog Patch at San Onofre State Beach. Back then, his board wasn’t actually a longboard, but when you’re a little kid, anything over six feet is huge.

“When he was small, there was nothing you could do to keep Brendan out of the water,” said Bob White, who has been surfing 34 years. “I figured since he wants to be in the water so bad, I’ll put him on a surfboard.”

But after a couple of years, Bob White started to realize that his son might be more than an average surfer.

“I remember when he was 8,” Bob White said, “his baseball coach came up to him and wanted to be Brendan’s sole sponsor in his surfing. That’s when I realized that he might have a future in this.”

Said White: “I would surf Old Man’s or Dog Patch every day. If you keep doing this, you get better. So about the time I was 13, I started to ride the nose and I was getting pretty good at it.”

Before White turned 16, he had pretty much locked into San Onofre. But now that he has a license and a car, he has expanded his horizons.

“I like Cotton’s Point and Oceanside,” White said. “I don’t like San Diego that much. But I try to get out more to see what other areas are like.”

White has gone as far as Costa Rica.

“I went with my dad and it was so good,” he said. “I would like to go to more places like Tahiti or someplace like that.”

Last weekend at Lower Trestles, White won his second consecutive National Scholastic Surfing Assn. Open longboard championship. White, a junior at San Clemente High, said his goal is to win four longboard titles at the event.

“Depending on whether I become pro or not, I really want to win four titles,” White said. “I think I can, and it would be a great accomplishment.”

As his son’s technique continues to improve, Bob White says the sport also has instilled values he hopes will last the rest of his life.

“It’s a lot different than shortboarding,” Bob White said. “It seems so cutthroat and the competition thing. There is respect in longboarding. And I think Brendan has that.”

White, ranked No. 1 in the world in amateur surfing, is looking forward to the AirTouch Pro Championship and U.S. Open in Huntington Beach next month. This weekend, White will be surfing in a Bud Pro Longboard Tour event at Surfrider Beach in Malibu.

“I’m kind of surprised how far he’s gotten in surfing,” Bob White said. “But he’s progressing. And as long as he’s having fun with it, then he should continue.”

White said he might go to college, maybe major in business at San Diego State.

“I have two years left and it seems like a long time away,” White said. “So I’ll just keep focusing on surfing and getting better.”

In surf as high as 10 feet, Jeff Booth of Laguna Beach finished fifth Sunday at the Rip Curl Pro contest at St. Leu, Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Booth, who is ranked 10th in the world, lost to defending world champion Kelly Slater in the quarterfinals. Slater won the event, beating Australian Jake Peterson.

Before Brian Lewis became one of the most athletic players on the Miller Lite/AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, he had to work hard to become the most athletic member of his family in Corona del Mar.

Lewis’ mother, Anne McCahon, taught him how to surf. McCahon, 50, also plays volleyball, scuba dives and snowboards and currently is on a surfing expedition in Costa Rica. Lewis’ grandmother, Marcella Lewis, 83, is into clogging--a kind of dancing, but also plays tennis and basketball. He also has a sister, Shannon Lewis, who is an elite equestrienne and a grandfather, Jim Kilroy, who is a four-time world champion in Maxi yacht racing.

“If I didn’t have those genes, I probably wouldn’t be doing as well as I am,” Lewis said.

Lewis’ earnings since he joined the tour in 1989--$622,909--rank 13th among all players. He won the fifth tournament of his career Sunday, when he and partner Scott Ayakatubby defeated Adam Johnson and Jose Loiola, 15-10, in the final at Grand Haven, Mich.

“I never thought I’d be playing pro beach volleyball and making the kind of money I’m making and doing the things I’m able to afford. It’s a dream come true,” he said.

But there’s more to succeeding on the beach than dreaming about it.

“I don’t just show up out there and have it happen for me,” he said.

Nonetheless, Lewis showed talent as soon as he picked up a volleyball. In his first year of organized volleyball, he led Corona del Mar to the 1985 Southern Section 4-A title as a junior. He led Orange Coast to the state community college titles in ’87 and ’89.

Lewis also showed promise when he began playing on the Miller Lite/AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour in 1989, but he had to pay his dues.

“You’re so used to winning all the time and then you go out there and you find yourself leaving the tournament before the thing really even gets started. You take your lumps the first few years,” he said.

Lewis’ first tournament victory was in 1992 in Clearwater, Fla., with Pat Powers. He also won in Chicago in 1993 with Randy Stoklos and in 1995 at Belmar, N.J., with Bill Boullianne before pairing with Ayakatubby this season.

Lewis and Ayakatubby have become a successful pair, with victories at San Diego and Grand Haven, one second-place finish, and four thirds.

“We both jump serve the ball very well, we both set the ball very well and we seem to get along halfway decent,” Lewis said.

When Lewis is not playing volleyball, he is relaxing at his beach house in Baja California, where he surfs and fishes. He also enjoys caring for the palm trees and other plants that grow around his home in Huntington Beach.

“It’s nice when you have your own house and you can actually take pride in how it looks. Watching things grow around it and maturing, it’s pretty cool,” he said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Upcoming Events

A weekly list of volleyball, surfing and other beach competitions in Orange County.

* California Beach Volleyball Assn. tournament

When: Saturday

Where: Capistrano Beach

Divisions: Men’s Novice

Cost: $30 per team. CBVA membership is mandatory and can be purchased for $10 per person at registration.

Information: (714) 498-3380

* California Beach Volleyball Assn. tournament

When: Saturday and Sunday

Where: Corona del Mar beach