Sue Fehlhaber has been an integral part of the Emerald community since she arrived as a child. Her connection to the community runs deep, and she is passionate about the support and kindness she sees every day.
“I came to Emerald when I was 10 because my dad had a job with the railway. I stayed in Emerald because it is a great place to live. I married a local boy, had my children here, and my family still lives here. I have also made some wonderful friends.
“I love the friendly nature of the Emerald community, and that people genuinely care about each other and are ready to help others when they are in need.”
Sue’s passion for giving back was instilled in her from an early age by her parents but it was when her own daughters took up gymnastics that her coaching journey began.
“I always played sport as a child and loved being active. I started coaching gymnastics because my girls did the sport and loved it. It just grew from there. Gymnastics has proved to be the foundation for all sports and I also coached swimming for a while.
“For me sport is more than just physical ability, it teaches so many life lessons such as goal setting, perseverance, commitment and team spirit.
“The thing I am most proud of is seeing the confidence grow in the kids I coach and seeing them achieve things they didn’t think possible, along with seeing them grow into amazing human beings.”
The growth of the gymnastics club has been another major achievement.
“Last year we had over 500 members. This was achieved through teamwork with coaches and the committee.
“We had some incredible success last year, Level 6 acrobatic pair Matilda McMahon and Stella Nyman placed first in their dynamic routine at Australian Championships. This was the first gold medal for the club in this discipline at this level.”
Despite the many successes, there have been challenges, particularly in the early coaching years when Sue lacked support to help her increase her coaching abilities due to living in a rural area. She was determined to overcome that.
“I have attended clinics and workshops and have had coaches come visit and share their knowledge at the club which not only benefits me but all the club’s other coaches. I have also done online training to gain more knowledge to help the gymnasts.”
In recognition of her dedication to sport, Sue was recently inducted into the Central Highlands Hall of Champions, an honour that celebrates outstanding contributions to local sport.
“I felt very humbled to have been nominated. We have so many worthy recipients of this award in our community, so to be inducted to the hall was a huge surprise. I don’t do what I do for awards, I do it for the kids.
“My goal remains the same – to offer everyone the best I have, which hopefully benefits them in the best way possible. From a club perspective, we are working on getting a bigger venue, which will allow us to increase the number of young people able to try gymnastics and run larger events which will bring in revenue to the community.
“I would love to see a regional games held, with invitations going out to metropolitan areas, where it is a multi-sport event so that we can showcase what sports are on offer in our region, our regional athletes, and what the region has to offer.”
Sue encourages everyone to get involved in sport.
“The benefits are endless. Dream big, believe in yourself, work hard, and you will be unstoppable. To aspiring coaches – what an awesome opportunity you have to help athletes be the best they can be.”
