Starting 'em young

One of the great things about small town high school athletics is that you really don't even have to be in high school to be on the high school varsity.

Case in point, Lakeside baseball.

Warriors coach Bob Gray said his team is young this year. It's so young that one of the starters is an eighth grader.

That's middle school no matter how you slice it.

Not to mention the three ninth graders that are starting.

Here's my take: If you're good enough to start on the varsity as an eighth-grader, more power to you. And the good thing is when you're a senior after starting four years, you ought to be really good.