Mechanicsburg girls basketball coach Christie Dodane trusts her point guard to change the play when necessary. After all, trust within a family is important.

“Sometimes my mom will call a play, and I’ll be like, ‘No, no, no, they’re in something different,” Brook Dodane said. “So I just call it and go.”

The Dodanes – Christie the coach, Brook the senior, Jamie the sophomore – came to Mechanicsburg three years ago. Now they have led the Indians (23-3) into the Division IV Region 16 semifinals Wednesday at 8 at Tippecanoe High School against fifth-ranked Tri-Village (24-2).

Dodane coached at Miami East from 1992-2000 before giving it up because her daughters were young. Then she was the head girls coach at Graham for two years where her girls were in school, but she was still teaching at Tecumseh. That’s when a coaching offer from Antwerp High School in northwest Ohio got the Dodanes thinking they should be at the same school all day.

When Antwerp, where Dodane’s husband is from, hit a snag in the process, Mechanicsburg showed interest. There was a family tug there as well because Dodane’s father is Paul Hershberger, the retired boys coach at Mechanicsburg.

“It came down to whoever offered me the job first,” Dodane said.

The Dodanes are happy to be together. Brook runs the team and scored 24 points in Saturday’s district win over Cincinnati Country Day. Jamie is the team’s leading scorer at 18 points a game. And Grandpa Hershberger is an assistant coach.

“I really enjoy the closeness that I’ve gotten with the girls, and sharing every aspect of winning and losing,” said Christie Dodane, who also coaches her girls in softball. “I’ll cherish these years.”

Brook might play basketball at Edison Community College next year as she begins to pursue becoming an anesthesiologist. But before that education begins, she is reflecting on her basketball education.

“It can be tough at times,” she said. “I hear it on the court, at home, all the time. But it’s awesome. It’s really made me a better player playing for her. It’s very constructive criticism.”

Jamie likes playing for her mom and that her classroom is just down the hall.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she said. “When you go home and talk about it she knows what’s going on. Some parents wouldn’t know what you’re talking about, well mom’s been there, she’s involved with us. I just love it, I love it so much.”