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Teresa Martini's official title is manager of Yours And Mine Sports, but she is prefers "head mouse in charge of the cheese." She grew up playing most sports – everything from roller and ice hockey to soccer and basketball and then club lacrosse at Santa Clara University (Go Broncos!). She got into the business in a roundabout fashion by first opening an art studio/antique store in 2009, but her now-fiancé went from working at the local sporting goods store to working at her parent's company across the parking lot and he recommended she get into doing T-shirts and sporting goods. The art studio had only been open for two months, but she realized he had a point. By the start of the next year she had transformed it into a sporting goods store and Yours And Mine Sports just slowly kept growing. What's the past year been for you, personally and professionally, in dealing with the pandemic? The uncertainty of it all is the hardest part. Do I have COVID? Should I not go see my parents? My mind tends to go towards the worst-case scenarios. Thankfully, I have been really lucky compared to what it could have been. Youth sports have taken quite a hit in California. How has that impacted your business? Not having youth and high school sports in California has been hard. We sort of pivoted to doing more on the skateboard side of the store because that was where the demand was. I feel bad for all of the vendors and reps that we were doing business with. We did a little team and corporate business so we had a few orders, but they definitely decreased if not stopped altogether. We used to do a lot of letterman jackets, but without sports kids weren't getting block letters or championship patches so we weren't selling jackets or sewing on patches. Any good come out of all of this? One of the best things to come out of the pandemic probably was a shuffling of positions. It forced me to take a hard look at how we were doing things and realizing that I need to do what is best for the company. I feel very fortunate to have the staff that I have now and if it weren't for the pandemic I don't think we would be where we are in that respect. So what is your "typical" day like these days? I do a little of everything on a typical day — it just depends who walks through the doors. Helping customers always comes first. I do the graphics for customer projects when needed and all in-house stuff. I have a minor in studio art so I enjoy getting to use some of my artistic skills. That sounds like the more enjoyable part of the day. Yes, but there is also all the "fun" stuff like paperwork and making sure product is on order and the store is organized that is usually on the agenda for the day, too. This last year our skate shop really took off, so I have learned a lot about that side and putting boards together. Do you view yourself as a woman in the team sports business or simply a person who is in the business? I would have to say just as a person in the team sports business. I mean, there are definitely times where being a woman comes up and may effect a situation, but it's not something I think about most of the time. The team business has historically been male dominated. So what are your unique challenges of being a woman in this business? It definitely has its challenges and sometimes it is just trying to gain the respect of people. I'm not sure if it is because I'm a woman or maybe because I'm in my 30s and not the "typical" owner, but I think sometimes it's hard for people to recognize that I can have just as much, if not more, knowledge on a subject. Has that changed? I'm not sure if I just notice it more now, or it effects me more, but I feel like it may have gotten worse over the last few years. Any examples of that? Just a couple, of the many, instances: I was helping a customer with a bat and he asked me if I could go ask one of my managers if he could take a little bit more off the price. Ouch. Anything else? We also have a skate shop in our store and it's the same thing. A customer came in looking for two skateboards for his kids. I asked if I could help and he was basically, like, no, I want his help. Sometimes you just have to smile and laugh it off, I mean he did walk out with a skateboard that I had put together. On the flip side, what are any advantages of being a woman in the business? I can't say that I've really thought about that before this question and I'm not sure that there are necessarily. Maybe I just haven't looked at all of the avenues that are available in that aspect. I tend to be a shy person, so going to things like women in business events isn't something that I'm comfortable doing so I tend to avoid them. What do you think you bring to Yours and Mine Sports with a woman's perspective as compared to your male colleagues? Probably just looking at things from a different angle or approach sometimes. Teresa Martini Yours and Mine Sports, Modesto, CA • TEAM 78 • May 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com ONE-ON-ONE

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