This story initially appeared on Behind the Whistle, the official blog of the IWLCA, and is being republished with permission from the organization. Meredith Black is the head coach at Marquette University.

[Editor’s Note: From time to time, the IWLCA will feature a short Q&A with an IWLCA member coach. The format will be one question about lacrosse, one question about life, and one fun question.]

What is the most important physical skill a lacrosse player should develop to take their game to the next level, and why?

Control the controllables. You may not get the opportunity to play in game situations against people of your level every day, but there are many things you can do on your own to develop physically.

1. Develop both your right and left hands to be the best stick handler around. Do stick tricks, throw short, long, accurately, one handed, two balls, etc.

2. You can practice all types of running — long, short, sprints, etc. Also, you can start to push yourself in running. When you think you have hit your max, do one more sprint to see how much more you have in you.

3. Lastly, you can learn tools of how to lift weights so both your body and mind are prepared for this when you arrive at the next level.

All these things can be developed with YouTube videos or other resources that are of little or no cost to players.

What is the one thing that you hope every player that goes through your program learns during their time as a student-athlete?

The value of being part of a team. In my opinion, there is nothing better in the world than to be a part of a team. When you have a team with you, everything is possible!

Cherish the opportunities that being on a team gives you and utilize it for the rest of your life. I always tell my graduating players to cherish and uphold the relationships with their teammates that they have built for their past four years.

If you were at the IWLCA Convention and got stuck in an elevator with a few other coaches, who would you want to get stuck with and what would you talk about while waiting to be rescued?

Two answers to this: I should probably say Chris Sailer, because she is a legend and is someone that everyone of us in our game can look up to. But I was so fortunate to get the opportunity to be in a leadership development program with her this past year, so I feel like I basically had this opportunity already. Because of that, I am going to pick a different group …

I would really like to get stuck with a few coaches who have only been coaching for a few years. I would love to talk to them about what they love about coaching and what they do not love. I would love to have them all share something, so that after the elevator ride, they come out inspired and wanting to coach for the rest of their lives. Right around the 3-5 year mark, I feel like people start to think twice about coaching as a lifelong profession, and we need more people to stay in the game!