Only .8 percent of students are recruited to play at NCAA Division I schools, Renkens emphasized. But hundreds of other colleges — many of which you have probably never heard — have money and openings just waiting for a decent student athlete.
He gave as an example his own daughter who is playing for a little-known East Coast school called Manhattan College even though, he said jokingly, "she's not even any good!"
"If you want to play — and I mean really play, not just sit on the bench — you need to look for those Division III schools all over the country," he said.
Renkens emphasized that much of the process involves a college choosing the student, not the other way around.
"A university has to be willing to put time and money into your athlete or they don't really want him or her," he told the parents in the crowd.
Spending money on tuition and travel for a student to join a university level team is silly, Renkens said, because if the school really wanted him or her to play there, the school would be willing to foot the bill.
"If they don't pay, you don't play," he repeated.
"We knew nothing about recruiting," said Karyn Smithson-Hughes, whose son plays football and competes in wrestling and track for La Cañada High. "But I guess there are ways to find a school where you can go to play."
Many of the parents present came away feeling optimistic about the process despite some of the hard realities of the recruiting process.
"This is something we could actually do," said Jeannie Robbins, who attended with her sons Andy and Dale.
According to Renkens, La Cañada kids have a special advantage in being from California.
"Every school wants to say they have students from all 50 states," he said. "And as far as athletics goes, California has some of the most challenging leagues in the nation."
La Cañada athletic director Al Reyes plans on bringing the Recruiting Realities program back to the school on an annual basis to help educate parents and students about the next step in student athletics.
