5 Questions With Pickleball Aloha Ambassadors Mel and Jennifer Ona

Thanks Mel and Jen for letting me take a few candid pics!

Open Play can be pretty daunting for a newbie/beginner.

When I started out, I wanted to play outside of my once-a-week lessons, so I broached the topic of Open Play with my fellow students. It was a mixed bag of reactions—some good; some not-so-friendly.

Then, someone told me about this super inclusive, mellow-vibe Open Play out in HK on Sundays. I heard it again from someone else—how the hosts welcome everyone to play. “You should go out to Hawai’i Kai on Sunday mornings”, they told me.

Struggling to classify what level you’re at? 2.5? 3.5? Ground zero? Doesn’t matter on Sunday mornings in HK.

Meet our inaugural Pickleball Aloha Ambassadors Mel and Jennifer Ona, the couple that coordinate, organize, support y’all, and make it happen out in HK.

Jen said that it started out with her asking a few people to play, but it’s quickly grown to sometimes having over 30 pickleballers at the Kamilo’iki Courts on Sunday.

In the words of a HK pickleballer, “They’ve done so much for the pickleball community and have asked for nothing in return. They’re so generous with everything.”

Join me in celebrating Mel and Jen for generously supporting the pickleball community!

Now, for the 5 questions:

First off, we’re going to start with the quintessential Hawai’i question: where were you born and raised, and what high school did you go to?

Mel: I was born in Boston, MA, raised in upstate (Rochester) New York, and attended McQuaid Jesuit High School (Rochester, NY).

Jen: I was born and raised in Massachusetts and attended Plymouth North HS.

What do you do outside of pickleball (work, hobbies, volunteer, etc)?

Mel: I'm a board-certified gastroenterologist in private practice in Kapolei and Medical Director/Chair of the Division of GI at Pali Momi Medical Center. I have a bunch of passion projects/hobbies such as writing books (published three), singing (releasing a music album in Oct 2023), and martial arts (two black belts/JKD and doces pares and one blue belt/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).

Mel (about Jen): Jennifer wears many hats (manager, biller, IT/computers) and runs our GI private practice overseeing more than 20 employed staff and two clinical facilities. She's the BOSS!

She enjoys standup paddle board (previously competed in two state-wide races), graphic design (she creates stickers and T-shirts for fun!), and is an associate photographer of the renowned Peter Hurley Headshot Crew. She also loves caring for our dog and 9 feral cats!

Why did you decide to take up pickleball and when did you start playing?

Jen: Our friend Lily is a competitive pickleballer in Wisconsin and she introduced us to pickleball earlier this year. We tried it out 6 months ago (Jan/Feb 2023) as something active and fun we could do together that wasn't work. Now it's truly our passionate obsession!

What made you decide to host the courts in Hawai’i Kai and why do you do continue to do it?

Mel: It was Jennifer's idea to reach out to OPA and organize the Open Play at Kamilo'iki. The courts are beautiful and what better way to appreciate them than to play! We love the Hawaii Kai community (we moved here from the mainland in 2017) and wanted to experience the camaraderie and "ohana spirit" that pickleball often fosters. We keep going because of the people who come from all walks of life, from ages 10 to over 70, newbies to seasoned competitive athletes, sharing the fun, keeping the family-feel vibe, and getting in some great matches (usually 3-4 courts and only 10-15 minutes of wait time)!

Jen: When you first start playing Pickleball, it can be tough to find people to play with regularly. I signed up for classes through Parks & Rec and Oahu Pickleball Association (OPA) but Mel's work schedule didn't really allow him to participate in those. So we purchased a net and I started inviting people from my classes to join us at Kamilo'iki since we live nearby. My contact list grew very quickly to the point that it became too much like work to coordinate games. I am a firm believer in working smarter, not harder and this was supposed to be my escape from work. That's when I reached out to OPA about hosting. I figured I could just let my network of people know and whoever was available could just show up. Well, they did and then some...

What do you love about pickleball?

Mel: We love pickleball because it's like life! There are ups and downs, wins and losses, but at the end of the day it's the quality of the connections and friendships that make it worth the time. I've heard the saying that "happiness is progress" and it's amazing to feel like every day we play pickleball, no matter how many errors we make, or games we lose, or get "golden pickled" (losing 11-0-2 to the first server!), we can stay present in the process and learn something new about ourselves and this wonderful game!

Bonus Question: Any tips for someone who wants to try Open Play?

Mel: First, come to Open Play at Kamilo'iki on Sunday mornings (8:30a.m.) - it's so much fun and the vibe is welcoming and non-judgmental! Second, stay hydrated and warm-up/rest adequately so that you don't get injured (over-use injuries are increasing in this sport!). Third, stop pondering the last shot or worrying about the next point because you'll miss the most important thing - staying present and enjoying it NOW! Aloha!!

Wow—who knew?!?! I hope you enjoyed learning about Mel and Jen as much as I did!

Mahalo Mel and Jen, for all you do for the Eastside pickleballers—we’re so grateful to have Pickleball Aloha Ambassadors like the two of you!