Roadmap to College Soccer : Temple Athlete Advisory Group

Episode 35 comes to you from a hotel room in Brunswick, Maine, the night before Neumann’s first-round NCAA Tournament game.Last Saturday, in their first year in the MAC Commonwealth, Neumann beat Messiah, one of the most decorated programs in D3 history, 1-0 on a penalty with nine seconds left to win the conference championship. Erik takes you through the final, the 60-yard shot his keeper had to deal with on the last restart, and how you let a group enjoy a moment like that without letting it become the high point of the season.Then it’s a true behind-the-scenes look at what a tournament run actually feels like:    •    Watching the selection show with the team, the university president, and the campus community    •    Why the bracket comes down to rankings, travel rules, and host sites, and what it’s like to draw a team you didn’t expect    •    Booking rooms, feeding 40+ people, and an 11-hour bus ride the day before    •    Study hall on the bus, room checks, curfews, and keeping players in routine    •    What it means for parents trying to follow along, and why “this is a business trip, not a vacation”On the recruiting side, Erik explains why showcase season doesn’t pause for the postseason, how to communicate with a coach whose team is still playing, why a coach skipping an event because of a tournament run isn’t a sign of lost interest, how winning changes who reaches out to a program, and why teams that didn’t make the tournament are often fully locked into recruiting right now.And a reminder for every family in the middle of this process: the moments on the field after a big win are what all those years were for.New episodes every Friday.

The vote is in. D1 schools blocked the year-round men’s soccer model. In episode 34, Grant and Erik break down why it failed and what comes next.Erik explains the real divide behind the vote: coaches pushing for player development on one side, and administrators, sports information directors, athletic trainers, and schools without men’s soccer worrying about workload and what it would open up for lacrosse, baseball, and other sports. He also shares a striking comparison making the rounds among coaches: how few days fall sports actually get with their teams compared to winter and spring sports, and why a middle ground like a longer fall season may be where this goes next.Then it’s straight into showcase season. ECNL Phoenix, MLS Next Fest, ECNL South Carolina, and ECNL Florida are all on the calendar, while transfer portal emails are already flooding coaches’ inboxes before their seasons end. Erik covers:    •    How coaching staffs split up and prioritize events    •    Which graduating classes coaches are watching right now at each level    •    Why fifth years are already causing decommitments    •    Why a recruit who reaches out with real interest starts “halfway through the marathon”    •    How staying in consistent contact makes recruiting far less overwhelmingPlus a check-in on Erik’s conference championship run, and a moment for the seniors whose careers just ended.New episodes every Friday.

The comments keep coming, so in Episode 33 Grant and Erik keep answering them.They open with Erik’s first season in a new conference, including a scoreless tie against Messiah, one of the most decorated programs in D3 history, and what a program’s rise changes about how a coach recruits. Erik explains why recruiting to an identity matters more than chasing the best player at every position.Then an update on the D1 year-round vote, which is due November 6th. Erik breaks down something most people don’t realize: every D1 school votes, including schools that don’t sponsor men’s soccer. They also discuss what the decision could open up for other sports, and why the weeks after the vote and the start of the transfer portal could reshape recruiting heading into December showcases.Erik’s advice to families priced out of the top leagues: be selective with ID camps, be honest with coaches about your situation, and consider starting at a level where you’ll play, then working your way up.Got a question or a take you want us to answer on air? Email: [email protected] or drop it in the comments.New episodes every Friday.Book a free strategy call with TAAG: https://templeathlete.com/strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=comments-round-2&utm_content=ep33-descriptionJoin the Roadmap to College Soccer Operating System: https://www.skool.com/temple-athlete-advisory-group-7525/about?utm_source=podcast

Our clip on the D1 year-round season got more comments than anything we’ve ever posted. Some of you agreed. A lot of you didn’t. So in episode 32, Grant and Erik read your comments and an email from a listener and answer them directly, no edits.They start with the gap year clip that got cut right at the wrong moment, and Erik explains what he actually meant when he said a recruit telling him “I want to go pro” can end the conversation.Then a listener pushed back on the idea that “D3 is the new D1” and pointed out how talented southern D2 conferences are. Erik explains where that idea came from, where the listener is right, and how the top of D1 moving toward a semi-pro model is pushing strong players into D3 and D2.From there they take on the biggest topic in the comments: international players. How American players can compete, why international recruits often arrive with a different mindset about going pro, why sending American kids overseas for a gap year may not get them seen by the right people, and why the new age-based eligibility clock could narrow the age gap.They also respond to comments claiming 2027 recruits are “screwed,” that most D1 programs will be cut “by design,” that no D1 player goes pro, and that most recruits stay within 150 miles of home. Plus a player’s question: can D2 or D3 still lead to professional soccer?The theme running through all of it: playing college soccer is a privilege you earn, not something you’re owed.Got a question or a take you want us to answer on air? Email mailto:[email protected] or drop it in the comments.1

The biggest recruiting events of the year are coming. ECNL Phoenix. ECNL South Carolina. MLS Next Fest in Arizona. Thousands of players, hundreds of college coaches, and most families walking in with no plan.In episode 31, Erik takes you inside how a college coaching staff actually builds its showcase schedule. Which events a staff chooses and why, how coaches split up when two major events land on the same weekend, and how a coach decides which of the dozens of games in a single time slot is worth walking to.He explains why the player who emailed ahead of time draws a coach to the field (and their teammates and opponents along with them), why goalkeepers need to tell coaches exactly which half they’re playing, and why D3 programs are now showing up at MLS Next events they would have skipped a few years ago.He also covers what coaches see in person that film never shows: warmups, body language, coach-ability, how a player responds after giving the ball away or getting subbed off.Then he lays out a simple three-step framework for the next six to eight weeks: identify, prepare, execute. Plus how to find which coaches are registered for each event, and a real client story about what a genuine official visit looks like compared to one that signals low interest.Book a free strategy call with TAAG: https://templeathlete.com/strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=showcase-season&utm_content=ep31-descriptionJoin the Roadmap to College Soccer Operating System: https://www.skool.com/temple-athlete-advisory-group-7525/about?utm_source=podcast

On October 7th the NCAA Division I Cabinet affirmed the proposal to move D1 men’s soccer to a year-round model. Fall and spring competition segments. A spring championship. One transfer window after the season ends. It is now in a 30-day rescission period, and if it survives, it takes effect for the 2027-28 academic year.In Episode 30, Grant and Erik break down what actually happened, why the vote was close, and what this means for families in the recruiting process right now.Erik explains why nearly every coach loves the idea from a pure soccer standpoint, and why the decision will come down to athletic directors, presidents, budgets, and facilities. They walk through the real risk that some mid- and low-major programs cut men’s soccer entirely rather than absorb the cost, and what that does to the number of D1 roster spots available. They also get into how a single spring transfer window and the fifth year eligibility rule could collide on D1 rosters, how the showcase calendar is likely to shift, and what this means for D2 and D3 coaches who recruit at the same events.And they cover the women’s side, where the oversight committee declined to propose the same change.The bottom line: you cannot control what the NCAA decides. You can control finding your best fit.New episodes every Friday.Join the Roadmap to College Soccer Operating System: https://www.skool.com/temple-athlete-advisory-group-7525/about?utm_source=podcast

The Five-for-Five eligibility rule changed the landscape. And now more families than ever are asking the same question — should my athlete take a gap year?In Episode 29 Grant and Erik give you the most honest take on gap years you are going to hear anywhere. Not the version the prep school program sells you. Not the version the club coach suggests when they want to keep your kid on the roster for another year. The actual version.They cover what is actually driving this conversation right now, what the Five-for-Five eligibility clock means for families considering a gap year and why getting this wrong can cost your athlete eligibility rather than preserve it, the specific circumstances where a gap year genuinely makes sense versus where it is almost always a reactive emotional decision, what coaches actually think when a recruit tells them they are taking a gap year, the bridges that get burned in that moment and how hard they are to rebuild, and the pro and con framework every family should run through before making this call.They also announce a new school directory inside the Roadmap to College Soccer community with all college coach contacts and a best fit filter built in.New episodes every Friday.

Five weeks left in the college soccer season. In episode 28 Grant and Erik pull back the curtain on what is actually happening inside programs right now and what it means for families navigating the recruiting process this fall.They get into how the schedule works and why it matters for recruiting, what coaches are evaluating about their rosters as the season winds down, how the decision to bring someone back for a fifth year gets made and when those conversations actually happen, and why the Five-for-Five eligibility rule has created genuine chaos for coaches who are trying to build their classes without knowing the rules that will govern them.They also share a real client story about resetting not restarting when a commitment falls through and what that actually looks like in practice.And they close with the most actionable advice of the season for families who still have time to move the needle before November.New episodes every Friday.Book a free strategy call with TAAG: https://templeathlete.com/strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=october-fifth-year-chaos&utm_content=ep28-description

In Episode 27 Grant and Erik sit down with Lauren Ruhl, Licensed Professional Counselor and Sport Psychology Clinician at Greenepsych in Haverford Pennsylvania. Lauren is the Director of the Injury Recovery Program and has worked with athletes from middle school through professional levels on the mental and emotional side of sport, injury, and performance.She has also lived it. Three ACL tears of her own. A college career at Lebanon Valley College interrupted by injury. A career path that changed entirely because of what she experienced and what she saw was missing for athletes going through the same thing.This episode covers everything the physical side of recruiting does not. What prolonged uncertainty and pressure actually do to a young athlete's mental state. What mind chatter is and how it shows up in the worst possible moments. The difference between real confidence and performed confidence. What happens to an athlete's identity when a serious injury hits during the recruiting process. How fear of reinjury actually shows up when an athlete returns to play. And what parents do that helps versus what they do that makes it worse even when it comes from a place of love.One of the most important episodes we have recorded.New episodes every Friday.

Three weeks into the college soccer season and Erik is in the thick of it. In Episode 26 he and Grant pull back the curtain on what the first few weeks of the season actually look like inside a program — how a freshman recruiting class gets evaluated in real time, what culture looks like when the pressure is on, and why the first three weeks tell a coach more about a player than twelve months of recruiting ever could.They also get into campus visits. Fall is the best window to get on a college campus and watch a program play live — and most families are not doing it. Erik breaks down exactly what a recruit should be observing, what parents should understand about their role on a visit, and why there is no substitute for actually being in the building when the game is happening at full speed.And they announce something new — the Roadmap to College Soccer Community is live. For families who want the insider knowledge without the one-on-one advisory, it is all in there. Tools, resources, live office hours, and a direct path through the process without the noise.New Episodes every Friday! Hit that Subscribe button. Book a free strategy call with TAAG: https://templeathlete.com/strategy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep26-visits-community&utm_content=description