Sue McLaughlin
Sue McLaughlin has played an important role in the development of young people through the sport of tennis.
An outstanding athlete in her own right, her major contribution of helping boys and girls has earned her induction into the Mercer County Hall of Fame.
At Sharon High School, she coached both boys and girls tennis teams from 1979-2006, developing many standout individual players as well as stressing academics along with athletics. While her players won numerous WPIAL Regional and Tri-County singles and doubles titles, 24 times a tennis player was valedictorian or salutatorian of his/her graduation class.
At Sharon, she served as girls swimming coach from 1975-81.
She was director of tennis for the Sharon Recreation Board from 1978-82 and director of tennis at Buhl Farm Park from 1983 through today. She has served as tennis instructor at Avalon at Squaw Creek from 2008 through the present.
She has conducted numerous successful tennis tournaments.
In her 30-plus years as coach or Buhl Farm Park tennis director, she has worked with thousands of athletes, both young and old. “My philosophy has always been to teach them a sport that they could participate in for a lifetime and have fun in the process,” she stated.
Sue prided herself that she never cut an athlete from any of her varsity teams, stating that “If that athlete was willing to do everything I asked of him or her, I believed that he or she deserved a chance to be part of the team.”
She has been part of numerous professional organizations, including the United States Tennis Association, Middle States Tennis Association, Allegheny Mountain Tennis Association, Pennsylvania High School Tennis Coaches Association, Pennsylvania Coaches Association and National Federation of Coaches Association.