Today on the podcast we are very fortunate to have join us, is Sue Harding from Merinda Calisthenics College in Melbourne. Sue is one of the top Championship Level Coaches in Melbourne and has had a very successful coaching career being awarded Victorian Coach of the year on three occasions in 1996, 2005 and 2019.  

Starting her calisthenics journey at the young age of 5 at a local church-based club, Sue then moved to Minerva at the age of 7 and has been a Minerva/ Merinda girl ever since. Sue has completed all her level exams and continued to complete her Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals. Sue competed in the Graceful Girl competitions at R.S.S.S.  in Ballarat for four years and also at Nationals in 1990.

 Sue was a member of the first-ever Victorian Senior State Team in 1989, again in 1990 and assisted in Inters in 1992. Sue has now continued to be a mentor coach for the Victorian State Team in both 2019, 2020. 

 Sue became Co-Principal of Merinda in 1998 when Pat Marsh retired and has been in this role for 23 years. She has coached all sections at Merinda throughout this time and has achieved many prestigious team titles including State Championships and Royal South Street in all Age Groups. 

 Sue has four children, two daughters and two sons.  Both daughters love calisthenics and have followed in her footsteps, both girls have been involved in State Team on numerous occasions, progressing through their levels with Jessica achieving her Gold Medal with Honours in 2019. 

 Sue finds the most rewarding part of her calisthenics journey is the lifelong friendships made and the families she has been involved with. Sue is most proud of the longevity and loyalty of Merinda families - teaching girls, seeing them grow into beautiful women and now teaching their daughters.

Today we are going to cover a lot, from coaching Tinies to coaching Seniors, running a club, and mentoring. I was fortunate to work with Sue this year as my mentor in coaching the Junior Qld State Team, something I found invaluable. I am also extremely lucky not to only call Sue a mentor, but a sister and best friend. We both grew up loving calisthenics together, performing together and being part of Merinda together. Since moving to Brisbane and taking over a club five years ago, there have been many phone calls back to Sue asking what to do, or how to do something. She has been a wealth of knowledge, and I know all of us at Rosemore, both coaches and committee members, have been extremely grateful for the advice she has given us to help grow and steer our club in the right direction. 

But for now, sit back and enjoy what is a jam-packed discussion, not many times in your coaching career to get to hear from one of the best!