Billie Jo Indahl and Mandy Frank have been coaching volleyball at Burke together for the past twelve-years. As you can expect, the pair also sustains a strong friendship that extends off the court.
But something else is adding another wrinkle to this already eventful duo – a wedding for their kids, who just happen to be getting married to each other.
Indahl’s daughter Taylee and Frank’s son Jaden have been dating since high school. Come this July, the pair will tie the knot, bringing the Indahl’s and Frank’s even closer together.
“I believe sophomore year, they kind of started dating in high school. It was the night we qualified for the first state tournament,” told Billie Jo Indahl. “Jaden apparently had asked her out and said “it’s meant to be, because you guys won,” so that’s what I remember.”
“[Jaden’s] a smooth talker, I tell you, “chuckled Mandy Frank with some motherly sarcasm. “There was a time, I don’t know if it was before a state tournament, but there was some hubbub about maybe taking a break and I just remember having the lecture with Jaden saying “Taylee is our go-to player, now is not the time you do this.” And it didn’t end up being anything at all, but I just remember having that conversation with him.”
Indahl has been coaching volleyball in South Dakota for 24-seasons. She started off in Colome, where she spent four-years, and then took an assistant coaching job in Burke. In 2011, she stepped into the head coaching role for the Cougars program, and she’s been there ever since. In 2013, Frank joined the staff.
“We played sports together in high school,” explained Indahl. “She’s just a couple years younger than I am. She’s from Gregory, I’m from Burke, so we kind of knew each other from high school too. Then she ended up marrying somebody, and they ended up coming back to Burke to live.”
“I was really fortunate when I came in, and we moved to Burke, and I started coaching with Billie Jo. There’s not a lot of head coaches who sit down and have conversations with their assistants. I felt like right off the bat we had a great collaboration of things. It was always open-ended conversations, team tactics, and things like that,” Frank exclaimed. “It’s just the fact that she’s always been so open to that. It’s a great happy medium that we have, and I honesty do feel that it’s led to a lot of our success.”
The Indahl-Frank duo has been to the state tournament a total of seven times now.
“[Mandy] knows the game of volleyball inside and out. She’s a motivator. She knows exactly what to do and what to say to get the girls going,” Indahl said. “A lot of times, I don’t have to do a lot of that. I don’t have a big voice anyways. She kind of has a big voice, I have the soft voice. Sometimes I sort of feel like we’re kind of opposites, but that’s what makes us work so well. We just work so well together on everything.”
From the strong play on the court to the sharp outfits of Indahl and Frank. When Burke is at the state volleyball tournament, it’s hard not to notice.
And while this unique bond will eventually lead to wedding planning, once volleyball season is done of course, the two sort of already feel like they’re family.
“For a long time, we’ve done family get togethers,” said Frank. “We’ve done New Year’s Eve, we kind of are already family. I guess we’ll get to be grandma’s together.”
“Then we’re going to fight over grandma time, that’s maybe when the true fights will come out,” Indahl said laughing.
Taylee and Jaden’s wedding will take place in July. Their moms Mandy and Billie Jo are excited about the journey ahead.
“Coach Frank is one of the most caring and compassionate people that I know,” said Indahl with a smile. “She adds a little spice and spunk to life, which is what I love.”
“We’re just beyond blessed that when it comes time to hang up the suits and move past volleyball and that aspect, no matter what, we’ll still get to be together forever in [the family] aspect,” told Frank with a grin. “Our kids are going to keep that bond. We’re beyond blessed with that.”
