Most recruiting advice comes from people who’ve never recruited anyone.
I’m Alan Good - Associate Head Coach at Liberty University, assistant coach with USA Field Hockey’s U18 Women’s National Team, and former club coach.
I’ve been the club coach helping families navigate this process. Now I’m the D1 coach making recruiting decisions on the other side.
The Recruiting Roadmap is my weekly newsletter helping 1,000+ families cut through the recruiting industry BS and understand how this actually works.
❌ The Biggest Problems Families Face in Recruiting
Most families enter recruiting with good intentions but no system. They’re either completely disorganized or focused on the wrong things.
I’ve watched hundreds of families make the same expensive mistakes:
📧 Writing forgettable emails coaches archive in 10 seconds - Generic messages that sound like every other email in the inbox. You need to know what actually holds their attention or gets a response.
🎯 Building unrealistic college lists - Wasting 6+ months pursuing schools that were never realistic options, or worse, settling for schools that aren’t the right fit because nobody taught you how to evaluate across academics, athletics, finances, geography, and social factors.
🏑 Showing up wrong at showcases and tournaments - Thinking you just need to play well when coaches are evaluating completely different things. Most players focus on stick skills. Coaches are watching communication, composure, and coachability.
👀 Misreading what coaches actually mean - Thinking “we’d love to see you at more events” means you’re being recruited. Or believing “things are moving really fast right now” is good news. These phrases mean something very specific - and it’s not what you think.
💰 Not understanding the financial reality - Assuming D1 is always a better financial package than D3. Not knowing how to stack athletic and academic aid. Accepting the first offer without understanding what’s actually possible.
🚩 Missing red flags on campus visits - Focusing on shiny locker rooms and Instagram-worthy facilities instead of the things that actually predict your four-year experience. Most families miss the warning signs because they don’t know what to look for.
🤝 Damaging your club coach relationship - Not understanding your club coach’s role in this process and burning a crucial bridge without even realizing it. This relationship can make or break your recruiting.
📍 Feeling completely lost and disorganized - Tracking emails, dates, coaches, schools, and deadlines in your head or scattered notes. No system for managing the chaos.
⏰ Having no idea what to do when June 15th hits - After sophomore year, coaches can finally contact you directly. But if you haven’t prepared properly, you’ve already lost momentum.
🎓 Making emotional decisions instead of strategic ones - Choosing schools based on how the visit felt instead of evaluating team culture, coaching stability, playing time reality, academic fit, and financial value. The decision that feels right in the moment isn’t always the one that’s right for four years.
These aren’t your fault. Nobody teaches this stuff.
But you don’t have to figure it out the hard way.
✉️ What You Get Every Week
The Recruiting Roadmap publishes twice a week:
Free Tuesdays (1,000+ subscribers)
Strategy, frameworks, and insider perspectives you won’t find anywhere else. This is where I share contrarian takes, reality checks, and the observations I’d never say publicly as a college coach.
Recent free issues:
Why quiet teams lose recruiting opportunities (not just games)
What coaches actually evaluate at showcases
The emails that get deleted vs. the ones that get responses
How to know when your list needs to expand
Red flags that reveal a program’s real culture
Paid Thursdays ($6/month)
Tactical toolkits, templates, frameworks, and implementation guides for families who want every possible edge, every second Thursday.
The most popular paid issues include:
📚 Popular Posts (Based on Reader Engagement)
Want to see what you’re getting into? While the paid posts above all have a paywall, here are some of the most-read free Tuesday issues:
🏑 Who Am I?
I’m Alan Good.
Current roles:
Assistant Coach, USA Field Hockey U18 Women’s National Team
Founder, The Recruiting Roadmap
Before coaching in college:
Club coach helping dozens of players navigate recruiting and earn college offers
Journalist covering field hockey and youth sports
What makes this different:
I’ve been on both sides. I know what families are thinking because I’ve helped them through this process. I know what coaches are thinking because I’m sitting in the recruiting meetings making the decisions.
That gap between what families think recruiting is and what it actually is? It’s massive. And I’m here to close it.
💬 What Readers Are Saying
“Alan’s blogs and resources are incredibly helpful & especially timely. It’s difficult for kids navigating college goals due to the ever-changing rules in recruiting & roster limits, pressures that cultivate through social media, etc. Most parents didn’t play college sport, and even if they did, the landscape is completely different now than a generation ago. With Alan’s resources as a guide, parents and student-athletes are better situated to take some control in the process & create space for the joy that all youth should experience through competing in sport. Alan uses his platform in a responsible and caring manner, and all field hockey families benefit from his efforts.”
Amanda Stanec
“Alan’s courses and newsletters have been a game-changer for how I help my athletes navigate their recruiting. His insight into what college coaches are looking for coupled with his clear breakdown of the process has allowed me a fresh lens for and how to better attack this recruiting landscape. After coaching for 14 years, it is harder than ever to get that division 1 spot for my kids. Alan has breathed new life into how I aid my athletes. There has been a tremendous amount of change within NCAA and collegiate FH. His course and frank way of breaking down the process, has helped me speak with more authority. I feel much more confident that I’m pointing my families in the right direction. Alan has helped me craft example emails for my athletes to write to coaches that will help them stand out. He has helped me decode what coaches actually mean in their interactions. He gives tips on when to push communication, and examples of reasonable things to ask coaches throughout the recruiting timeline. I’ve learned a lot in the past few months, and I cannot say enough good things about Alan’s courses and newsletter.”
Misty Brady
“As a parent of a “late bloomer”, I cannot share how important Alan’s newsletter about this was for us to read and discuss. His advice pertains not only to the recruiting process, but for all areas of sport recognition, accomplishments, and non-sport achievements. Overall, his information has been so well curated to answer the questions so many of us have. This one hit the bullseye and isn’t really addressed anywhere else... so, thank you!”
Devon Shuchman
🚀 Subscribe to The Recruiting Roadmap
Every Tuesday: Free recruiting insights that cut through the industry BS
Every Thursday: Premium tactical guides for serious families ($6/month)
Want even more support?
Check out The Recruiting Advisor — an AI tool trained on everything I teach, available 24/7 to answer your recruiting questions. ($29/month, 7-day free trial)
Questions? Comments? Want me to cover something specific?
I read every reply. Just hit respond to any newsletter.
Best of luck with it all,
Alan
