CSMFO’s Tennis & Pickleball Mixer

2020 CSMFO Tennis & Pickleball

Bank of the West (BOTW) started off the CSMFO Annual Conference with the 9th Annual Tennis and Inaugural Pickleball Mixer. The pre-conference event was located at the Anaheim Tennis Center and led by Head Pro Mike Nelson. This was Mike’s third time hosting the CSMFO BOTW mixer at his facility. Mike and his team did an amazing job coaching attendees and coordinating the Tennis and Pickleball round robin! The mixer was organized by Lily Ng, Managing Director and Government Banking Manager for Bank of the West. Everyone arrived on time and we started the day with introductions and networking over lunch. Our special guest CSMFO President, Steve Heide, kicked off the event with words of encouragement and a preview of the great mixer and conference to follow! The Pros started the event helping attendees warm up with tennis drills and games to get back into the “swing” of things. Once everyone was warmed up, we broke out into two flights and started the round robin tennis mixer. After the tennis mixer concluded, we switched gears to a new component of the mixer: the Pickleball clinic. The Pros walked us through the rules and nuances of Pickleball, including an explanation of what it meant to “stay out of the kitchen.” The “kitchen” is the area directly in front of the net and is considered a non-volley zone. This is a particularly difficult rule adjustment for tennis players, who try to poach and attack from that space. Ellen Clark of PFM summed up everyone’s initial thoughts on this rule change: “Pickle ball? Say what? You can’t step into the kitchen?” With help from the Pickleball Pros, we were able to practice our pickleball groundstrokes, volleys, and serves. In addition to adjusting to the volley rules, our group adjusted from hitting a heavier tennis ball with a larger racket, to hitting a whiffle ball with a smaller paddle. Pickleball was an amazing addition to the mixer. It’s fun to play and relatively easy to pick up, even if you have never played before. If you are looking for a new sport, I highly recommend looking into Pickleball! I think it’s safe to say that everyone got a good workout at the mixer. Lily promised that attendees would have at least four solid hours of playing pickleball and tennis, and she carried through on that promise! My tired legs moved a little slower as I walked through Downtown Disney later Tuesday night. Donna Ventura from the City of Oxnard attended the mixer for her second year and took home the bronze medal in Pickleball. Regarding the mixer, Donna commented: “This is such a fun event and a great way to network in a smaller group than the 2,000 attendees at the conference. Lily and the Pros do a great job of organizing the event. Everyone gets something out of it regardless of what level they play at. I really enjoyed learning to play pickle ball too!” Linda Scholink from the City of Sand City took home the silver medal in Pickleball, and said the mixer was “a great way to start a conference. We get to burn some energy and connect with people we normally don’t get to see much of during the week. I look forward to connecting with some of the same people each year and making new connections and friends.” Max Mojab from Piper Sandler was a first-time attendee finished the day with a gold medal in Pickleball. Max noted that “as a first-time attendee, it was a fun and productive day of connecting and meeting new people, playing tennis and trying Pickleball for the first time. I look forward to doing it again next year!” CSMFO thanks Bank of the West for organizing and hosting the mixer, and Oracle for sponsoring the trophies. With a special thank you to Lily for her continued dedication and drive to make the annual mixer a fantastic conference experience!

C S O M F

PICKLEBALL MEDALIST GOLD Max Mojab, PJC SILVER Linda Scholink, City of Sand City BRONZE Donna Ventura, City of Oxnard 4TH PLACE James Russell-Field, City of Benicia TENNIS FLIGHT 1 CHAMPION Curt de Crinis, Columbia Capital FINALIST Eric McKean, Stifel TENNIS FLIGHT 2 CHAMPION Rob Burns, City of Chino FINALIST Herman Williams, Sacramento County 3RD PLACE Ruth Kikuchi, LSL CPA