Recently, I asked a high school administrator about a high school's role in assisting a graduate to move on to college.

Being the typical politician, he evaded the question, figuring the question was meant to trap him. Once the question was rephrased, to assure him he would not end up in court, he acknowledged schools provide guidance in moving students forward to college.

The same holds true for the athletic department as coaches assist in some form, with bringing colleges and sports prospects together - providing recruiters with game films, stats, or player information.

For high school athletes, a major link between college recruiters and the player is the coach. A coach can serve as the key link in communicating to colleges about a player's ability.

The parents are also a critical link as they will end up taking the athlete on recruiting trips to various schools, meeting with college coaches and speaking with a lot of school officials about financing their child's education.

For parents who are new to the college recruitment process, the best advice is to team up with a parent who has already gone through it (like last year's seniors).

As a parent with a student athlete, I found myself on the road to a softball game as part of the recruitment process for my youngest daughter. Our family had been through the process before, so we are veterans of sorts.

The Panthers of Chaffey College (27-17, 11-3) traveled to Norwalk to take on the Falcons of Cerritos College (36-5, 12-3), in the Best of Three state regional playoff games.

Chaffey coach Jimmy Rodriguez looked at his lineup card and was confident he could overcome anything Cerritos coach Kodee Murray could throw at him.

On the mound for Cerritos was Jessica Navarro, with Nadine Garcia behind the plate. The top of the 1st inning was uneventful for Chaffey as they failed to score any runs. When Cerritos picked up their bats in the bottom of the inning they set the tone for the game. Cerritos scored six runs as they batted through their entire lineup. In the 3rd inning Cerritos added three more runs to lead Chaffey 9-0. The door was slammed shut for Chaffey when Cerritos added two more runs in the 4th inning, as Navarro powered a hit over the center field wall for a two run homerun. The game ended under the mercy rule, after 4½ innings. Navarro pitched a perfect game as Cerritos took game one of the regional playoffs 11-0. Game two was scheduled for the next day, giving Chaffey an opportunity to regroup.