DORMONT — There are times when first-year Keystone Oaks girls basketball coach Nikki Presto wants to mix it up with her players on the court instead of instruct them from off of it.

Only 23, Presto isn’t that far removed from her playing days as a standout point guard at Thomas Jefferson High School and then Slippery Rock University.

“That’s something I’m still learning — whether to jump into a drill or just teach them from the side,” Presto said. “I can’t coach them if I’m playing, but sometimes I want to get in there and show them what to do physically.”

Presto has her Golden Eagles in the PIAA Class AA playoffs, where they will take on Moniteau at 6 p.m. Friday at North Hills.

This week, Presto has the urge to throw herself into the fray even more.

“Even during this playoff run, I’ve wanted to get in there,” Presto said. “The players get pumped when I do. They want to kick my butt.”

Whatever Presto has been doing, it’s been working.

Presto took over the Keystone Oaks program in May after spending a year as the girls junior varsity coach at Thomas Jefferson.

Her one season on the bench at TJ gave her the coaching bug.

Presto, a physical education teacher at Harrison Middle School in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, said she had no designs on being a head coach at the varsity level until last year.

Even 26 games into her first season, she’s still adapting to her team.

“You just learn so much about your program and your players on a day-to-day basis,” Presto said.

Presto had no idea what to expect when the season started. She had five seniors back, but also a slew of underclassmen.

Yet the Golden Eagles advanced to the WPIAL Class AA semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Seton-La Salle.

When asked if she thought the success was a surprise or expected, Presto said, “I think it’s a little bit of both.

“It’s been a perfect storm,” she added. “I’m just enjoying the ride.”

There have been many passengers along for this journey.

Presto comes from a big family and built many friendships during her playing days. Many have filled the seats at Keystone Oaks games to support her and her team.

“There have been probably 15-to-20 of my family and friends on average at each of our games,” Presto said. “That’s been awesome.”

One of those fans has been former SRU women’s basketball coach Laurel Heilman.

Presto said she has gleaned a lot from her mentor.

“I definitely learned a ton from coach Heilman,” Presto said. “She came up to me after one of our games and she said, ‘Ah. I see you are running a lot of the stuff we did.’

“I always liked the fast, up-tempo game. And we have the players here who can run it.”

Presto was helped by the fact that her predecessor at Keystone Oaks, Gene Mercuri, ran a similar attack.

Despite her early success, Presto said she still has a lot to learn.

“Probably the hardest thing I’ve had to learn is when to go hard at practice and when to ease off,” she said. “The game-situation stuff has gone well — we’ve done well in close games. That goes back to my girls. I’m not playing. They are. They are the ones who are executing.”