Catch their eyes

As Davis High's deep safety, Lance Castaneda uses his speed and size to defend receivers, fend off larger blockers and tackle running backs.

On offense, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior lines up at receiver and uses his physical traits to get behind cornerbacks and block linebackers.

He's among the city's best players, and is a talented student, but neither was going to be enough to get Castaneda on a college coach's radar — to say nothing of a scholarship.

"A few years ago, I sat down with my parents to talk about football and college," Castaneda said. "We didn't know if recruiters would come looking at me, so we went to them."

Toward the end of Castaneda's sophomore year, he began a program to improve his athletic and academic skills.

He began work with a personal trainer, attended football camps on college campuses, took the SAT and ACT college entrance exams and completed the 16 core classes required to be NCAA eligible.

Just as important, Castaneda and his parents made sure college coaches were aware of the effort he was making.

"We put together a package of Lance's football highlights, test scores, transcripts and his coaches' comments, and sent it to his 25 favorite colleges," Leonard Castaneda said.

The Castanedas didn't realize it, but they had the right idea when it came to recruiting — they didn't wait for college coaches to come to them.

"The best thing to do is send film out as soon as they can," said Brandon Huffman, West Coast Recruiting Manager for Scout.com. "By your senior year, don't expect the schools to come to you, they usually know who they want.

"(Players) have to be proactive and recruit schools, in essence, to get their names out. Film and attending camps at the schools are big steps."

Castaneda's video opportunities were few — Davis has a limited passing game, and its schedule is full of teams that run the ball — so he focused on attending football camps.

"You couldn't see a lot of me in game films, so I had to get in front of the coaches so they could see me play live," said Lance, named the MVP of the receivers at a Cal camp. "The camps attract the best receivers and defensive backs, so I was being tested every play."

A few coaches knew of Castaneda by way of his information packet. His play during camps at Cal, Stanford, Washington State and Nevada attracted even more attention.

Those camps took on added importance when Castaneda hurt his right hip in August. It limited his play the first month, he has only seven receptions for 78 yards, but he intercepted two passes in last week's victory over Downey.

"About half of the coaches talk to me about playing receiver, and the other half talk about being DB," Lance said. "I'm thrilled they know who I am. I'm not too proud to play at a small school. What's important is that I get my degree and that I like the campus."

Increasing Castaneda's appeal is that he has a 3.5 GPA, has passed the 16 core curriculum classes required by the NCAA, and scored 1,490 on the SAT and 20 on the ACT.

In addition, Lance said he's in Advanced Placement pre-calculus and anatomy, rather than the easier electives that many of his peers are taking.

"I'll take calculus as a freshman, so I want to be ready," he said. "I took anatomy because I want to major in kinesiology or sports medicine."

Strong academics aren't going to produce a scholarship, recruiters note, but they can be a deciding factor if a coach is looking at similar players.

Not every player need be as proactive as Castaneda — Modesto Christian's Reeves Nelson was a national basketball name as a freshman and Central Catholic lineman Dominic Galas wowed recruiters in the 1997 Division III Bowl Game — but the Stanislaus District is not as fertile a territory as the Bay Area or Fresno County for college recruiters.

Fewer recruits mean fewer recruiters. And if they won't come to see you, Huffman noted, you have to go see them.

The Castenadas' plan wasn't cheap — it included airline trips, overnight stays and fees for college entrance exams — but they saw it has an investment in their son's future.

While Castaneda's program is designed for him, it's a template that can be copied by many athletes in the district.

"We visited Stanford, Cal and Washington State during spring break," Lance said. "I met coaches and players, and I studied up on the schools before I got on their campus."

While coaches talked to Castaneda about football, family, academics and other issues, the 16-year-old queried coaches on most of the same issues.

"It was important they realized I was serious in my interest," Lance said. "It's a big decision for them, whether they decide to offer me a scholarship, but it's big for me, too."

No one has offered Castaneda, though he says Nevada, UC Davis, Fresno State, Washington State and Sacramento State have stayed in contact.

"I'd be the first in my family to go direct to college after high school. That's what really matters," Lance said. "I'm going to college. If I play football, too, that would be great.

"I've learned that you need to have a plan, and you've got to stick to that plan. We spent a lot of time on the the Internet, talking to other kids and parents who earned scholarships, and doing extra school work, and it's been worth it."