[Back In The Saddle]

Reducing the caliber of players is one thing. But when you start ad hoc suiting up 6th graders and sending them in a varsity game, especially kids that are not even on the team...that's not avoiding humiliation. That's heaping humiliation onto the other team.

And, at that point, it ceases to be a contest because, to the losing kids' credit, they pulled back and let the little kids shoot, pulled up at times to make sure they didn't accidentally hurt one of the little kids. Though they did swat away a last second shot attempt by one of the little guys.

Yes, I believe there are some age restrictions. At least when I asked a younger player before one game why he was sitting across the court from his varsity team and, "Aren't you a starter?" the kid smiles and says, "Yeah, but I'm too young to play in this game." Not exactly authoritative, but certainly suggestive that there is some age restrictions for varsity play at least.