Coaching to a Community:  Teacher and coach Abra Scanlon makes it her goal to connect with athletes she coaches

It was 5:30 p.m., and sophomore Elizabeth Beltrame was scanning past the bleachers to the track parking lot for her ride.

She had just finished her two-hour cross-country practice, where she ran to Harmon Park with another sophomore, Elin Guenther.

While she was stretching on the blazing turf field, the new JV coach, Abra Scanlon, approached her, asked her name and how her day had been.

From then on, Scanlon stopped her in the hallways at school and occasionally would run with Beltrame.

“She definitely brings a very friendly [energy to] the team,” Beltrame said. “She gets a lot more [athletes] talking to each other, and it's not just like a [separate] girls' and guys’ team. It feels like we're more mixed because of her. The biggest thing is a friendly atmosphere [with Scanlon] coaching.”

Scanlon doesn't only coach cross country and track, but she also teaches Spanish 1 and 2. Scanlon didn't even run in high school, but began running half marathons after college while traveling with friends at the time. 

She made running as many half marathons as she could a goal of hers throughout the 2010s, so far she has run nine races, all in different cities around the U.S including the Portland, the Ventura Lace Up and the Seawheeze half marathons.

In 2021, when Scanlon started teaching Spanish at Blue Valley Middle and High School, she decided to use her experience in running to apply for an open cross-country coaching job there. 

“Once I left [Liberty High School], I realized, ‘Oh, I might enjoy coaching,’ and honestly, I could see myself eventually, probably giving up teaching and maybe continuing to coach,” Scanlon said.

Scanlon is now an assistant cross-country coach and the JV track distance coach.

She has only been at SM East for two years, but she has added a positivity and sunshiney spirit to both sports, according to head cross country coach Mallory Dittemore.

As well as bringing positive energy to the team, Scanlon has also made an effort to get to know all the athletes on a personal level during their runs on easy days or while stretching on the turf after practice. 

“I think it's cool to be able to run with them, and then they see me running,” Scanlon said. “I think it speaks volumes when you see your coach doing the activity that you do, too. And that's why I really like running.”

When Scanlon joined the track coaching staff after coaching cross country at SM South for a year, there was only one distance coach, Rikki Hacker. Scanlon came on during the 2025 spring season and filled in during practices when Hacker was at his other coaching job at Park University.

Last track season, which was her first time coaching track, Scanlon organized distance runners’ race entries and she also stayed on top of talking with them throughout the season to check in, according to Hacker.

“She was awesome last year in track, and then with cross [country], obviously, we're all together [Hacker, Scanlon and Dittemore], but track is just a different animal,” Hacker said. “There are a lot more athletes in different events, and just having someone for support is great.”

The most rewarding part of coaching track and cross country, according to Scanlon, is being able to see the athletes’ hard work pay off in a personal record, or even a bad race for them that shows their effort.

JV track and cross country runner, sophomore Elin Guenther, stops by her classroom before school to chat because she doesn’t have Scanlon as a teacher, but still wants to check in.

From running to Starbucks together while chatting, to even something like pickles, Guenther has numerous stories from track.

“The last day of track, she brought my two friends, pickle juice at the end, because Grace Sharkey, [another track athlete], would bring the pickle pouches [to practice], and share [the juice] with all of us, so [Scanlon brought us some] on the last day,” Guenther said.

Scanlon treasures building relationships with students outside of school and seeing their personalities come through in a different and less controlled environment, through coaching. 

“She'll help me out through all of it as I'm going back and forth, and she connects well with athletes, whether you're out there, for the fun of it, or if you're one of the top athletes, she's good at just sharing moments with everybody,” Hacker said.