ACCEL U

Several years after the Miles family moved across the country from California to Maryland, the sisters connected with Baltimore-based trainer P.J. Quarrie. A former college running back at Bowie State, Quarrie entered the lacrosse sphere with another family filled with lacrosse talent.

Jacob Kelly — a former Georgetown and North Carolina attackman and the son of longtime Calvert Hall boys’ lacrosse coach Bryan Kelly — approached Quarrie and asked to be trained like a football player. From there, Quarrie worked with several of Jacob’s younger brothers, Maryland’s Daniel Kelly and Georgetown’s Shuey Kelly, and their cousin in Denver, midfielder Mic Kelly.

“It’s not a typical lacrosse training where we’re just working with the stick, passing the ball back and forth and shooting,” Quarrie said. “It really enhances athletic ability and changes the style. … If you have a girl moving that has that demeanor, that wiggle and that deception with stick skills, that’s a scary sight.”

Niki and Jordan’s younger sister, Taylor, an incoming freshman attacker at Navy, first worked with Quarrie before recommending the trainer to her older sisters.

All three regularly work with Quarrie during breaks from school, when they fine-tune their dodging and athleticism.

“They’re gonna come in and empty the tank every single session,” Quarrie said. “I try to challenge them mentally, so I put them through sleds and things they might not see at school. Whatever I throw at them, they’re gonna accept it.”

As Niki and Jordan prepared for their first fall ball with a Big Ten team, Quarrie put them through a speed program and focused on creating space and beating defenders. He said the jump in conferences from the Big South and Ivy League shouldn’t come as a shock to the system for either sister.