The interested High School student should notify both the admissions offices and the athletic offices of the Colleges he or she is interested in. Just like car sales people sell cars, the admissions office needs to fill those College slots, College recruiting is very competitive.

You should also communicate this intent to the High School Coach and the High School Guidance office, I am sure they would be glad to help.

Just did a recording with a DII College Softball Coach and he talked a bit about how he goes about finding prospects. You can listen in for free at
http://fastpitchtalkradio.com/2009/05/episode-33-live-call-with-coach-bill-vasko/

There's no way coaches will go to every high school. A college coach may never come to your high school, but that doesn't mean that you have no chance to show him/her who you are.

Definitely contact schools and programs you are interested in (more than just a few) and let them know that you are interested in their program and their school. If you listen to the recording of the call (see link above), the coach talks about one of the most common mistakes players make when contacting coaches.

You should also have highlight/game film available to send to interested coaches. Like I said, they may never be able to come to your school or to a game, so it's important that you are able to "deliver" yourself to them.

Also have some free tips on going through the college recruiting process at
http://allaboutfastpitch.com/freeresources.html

And lots of parents liked this blog post I wrote about a college recruiting myth many families fall for
http://allaboutfastpitch.com/Blog/the-college-recruiting-myth-even-i-fell-for/

I'm a former DI coach and player. Coaches are limited to the evaluation days they have, so it's impossible for them to go to every high school game or even every club tournament. That is why videos are so important, because you are personally putting your skills in front of them! It's always smart to get on a travel/club team.

If you can afford to join a travel team, look for a good team that attends showcase tournaments. College recruiters attend these tournaments and most of them have lists of the recruiters that plan on attending. You should definitely send a letter or email prior to the tournament to the recruiter at colleges you would like to attend, but don't narrow your options to a just a few colleges. And videos are great too.