LaxFinder Advisor

LaxFinder Advisor helps student-athletes discover college opportunities through AI-powered conversation, transforming complex searches into transparent, human-guided decisions.

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Inspiration

Every year, student-athletes and their families spend countless hours navigating disconnected websites, spreadsheets, and search tools while trying to answer one simple question:

Where can I play?

The challenge isn't a lack of opportunity—it's a lack of visibility.

As an educator and coach, I wanted to create a tool that transforms an overwhelming search into an intuitive experience. LaxFinder Advisor became the first implementation of a broader idea I call an Opportunity Pathway™: AI that helps people discover possibilities while keeping humans in control of every decision.

What it does

LaxFinder Advisor combines a national interactive college lacrosse map with an AI-powered advisor.

Instead of learning dozens of filters, users simply describe what they're looking for in natural language. The Advisor interprets the request, translates it into existing Finder filters, and updates the map in real time.

Rather than replacing the search experience, the Advisor enhances it by making every recommendation transparent and editable.

AI interprets.
Finder searches.
Human decides.

How we built it

LaxFinder Advisor was built as an enhancement to the existing LaxFinder platform.

Development followed an iterative human-AI workflow. I directed the product vision, architecture, testing, and validation while using OpenAI models to accelerate implementation, debugging, documentation, and refinement.

The application combines:

  • OpenAI models for natural language interpretation
  • Netlify Functions for secure server-side AI integration
  • A verified dataset of more than 1,300 men's and women's college lacrosse programs
  • A map-first interface built around geographic exploration
  • Existing Finder filters that remain fully editable

Instead of creating a separate AI search engine, the Advisor guides users through the existing Finder so users always understand how results are generated.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge wasn't integrating AI—it was designing an AI experience that users could trust.

Many AI assistants generate answers without explaining how they arrived at them. I wanted the opposite.

The Advisor was intentionally designed to keep users in control by making recommendations transparent, editable, and grounded in verified Finder data. Balancing conversational simplicity with user trust became the defining design challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully transformed natural language into an intuitive search experience without disrupting the existing Finder.

The Advisor enhances rather than replaces the platform, allowing users to discover opportunities through conversation while preserving transparency, performance, and human decision making.

The architecture was also intentionally designed to be reusable for future Opportunity Pathway™ applications beyond lacrosse.

What we learned

This project reinforced that AI is most valuable when it helps people understand their options rather than making decisions for them.

We also learned that transparency builds confidence. When users can see how AI interpreted their request and retain control over the search, they trust the experience far more than a traditional "black box" recommendation system.

What's next for LaxFinder Advisor

LaxFinder Advisor is our first Opportunity Pathway™.

Future development will expand the platform with personalized planning tools, saved searches, admissions guidance, and additional opportunity domains.

The architecture was intentionally designed so the same guided-discovery model can support future educational, career, and workforce applications.

Today: Student-athletes.
Tomorrow: Every classroom.

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