It seems everywhere you look a new star high school athlete is popping up across the nation.

Turn on ESPN and its guaranteed that there will be a story on how a football player committed to this college or how a basketball player broke his state’s all-time points record.

Sports are getting younger, faster and stronger, which means that the athletes are as well. On a typical varsity team you would usually find it consist of seniors and some juniors. It makes sense since these are usually the prime athletes in the school. However in today’s day in age this is changing.

Gone are the days of varsity athletics being dominated by upperclassmen, it is now the underclassmen’s turn to make an impact.

“The level of play we are getting is starting to get better at an early age so we are developing earlier. It gives us a better chance to go out there and step onto varsity,” sophomore varsity soccer player Stephen Tower said.

Tower, no stranger to success, had already been on JV during the 2011-12 season, but was moved up to varsity during the offseason and then was kept on for the actual season.

The call-up was not that surprising to Tower, but it was still an honor for the young player.

“It was encouraging, but at the same time it made me realize how hard I had to work,” Tower said. ”Everybody is bigger and stronger and older than me, and they have already earned their spots. Coming on as a sophomore was motivating but it was encouragement to work harder.”

Boys soccer coach Chad Rakestraw saw something in him that he felt would benefit the team. However he did not just automatically move him up. It was a process.

Since Tower was on JV as a freshman there was no hiding his skills as a player. When it came time for call-ups, Rakestraw asked JV coach James Balcolm what guy needs to get some playing time with varsity in the off-season and Tower’s name popped-up.

Tower was put to the test against the varsity players of the nationally ranked Cowboys, but Rakestraw saw the potential in him.

“We knew last year, as a freshman, of his potential; we just needed to see more maturity and more mental toughness for him to come up and play on varsity,” Rakestraw said.

It does not hurt when you have been playing since you were four on club and school teams, and being invited to national camps kind of helps too.

“He is a very quality player when it comes to the technical aspect of the game: his cuts, his distribution, and his tactical awareness. He knows how to play any position on the field. He understands the game and kind of what to do in any situation,” Rakestraw said.

These opportunities are what Tower thinks have helped him make it this far in soccer. Every practice, every scrimmage, every game Tower feels have made him better.

“I make sure to focus on the little things, like if we are in practice and coach says pass it to this foot instead of that foot, I am going to pass it to this foot,” Tower said.

However for everything Tower does well, he still is young and has much to learn before he will be a leader on the Cowboys.

One problem that everybody has noticed: his coaches, his teammates, and himself, is his struggle with mental toughness.

To his own admittance if he makes a mistake in practice or a game he takes himself out of it. He will throw his hands up, or hang his head.

“His main weakness is his self-esteem. It is just up to us to let him know that it is not a big deal and that he is a good player,” senior captain Drake Lovelady said.

His teammates are getting him to push through this problem. Something Tower greatly appreciates.

“Everyone is a family here,” Tower said.“They are so encouraging. I guess I’m considered the baby so they look out for me.”

His coaches attribute this problem to a little bit his personality but mostly his age. As an underclassman his maturity is less than is desired but Rakestraw is looking to help him.

“We talk to everybody about encouraging when the guy needs encouragement. If he needs a kick in the butt then kick him in the butt,” Rakestraw said. “If Stephen can get over that hump and the guys can help him build him up a little bit then he will be a big part of what we do as a team.”

Tower views his tactics a little bit differently though.

“It usually gets getting yelled at,” Tower said. “I’ll usually put my head down and start walking around but usually my teammates, like the captains will tell me to pick my head up.”

In the fall the coaches put the team through leadership training and character building exercises to make sure that the players can power through situations that Tower suffers from.

Right now though, he is just happy with his on-field performance. A starter half the time and a role player the other half, Tower brings something to the team they desperately needed: some stability.

“He was needed more in the back to give us some more control. Being a possession team that is an important aspect of our team and of our philosophy,” Rakestraw said.

They evened moved him to outside back which is a difference from his center position on JV last year, which shows his versatility.

You might think that being a sophomore he might struggle to keep up with the varsity guys. Don’t think so fast.

“I think I can match up with them pretty well but I need to work on my mental game,” Tower said. “They have had at least one to two more years on varsity, so their mental game is really strong and they have the physical ability to compete.”

Even his teammates who you usually are tentative to having younger guys playing with them rave about him.

“He is a real young talent. I mean he is only 15 and already playing with us and he is only getting better so he will help us out in future years,” Lovelady said.

A big obstacle for every underclassman is to prove themselves not only to the coaches but most importantly the players. Those guys will make or break him in an instance based on performance but that didn’t seem to be a problem for Tower.

“The first couple of days I think he impressed some of them to the point where they are like ‘Oh ok this guy can play,’” Rakestraw said.

For what he lacks in size, his skills, who his coach compares that to soccer great Lionel Messi based on his quickness and ability to read the field, make up for it.

Being on varsity is always an honor and there is always a reason for a coaches’ decision to put a player on the team. In this case Rakestraw saw a future star.

“He has a lot of potential to do great things not only for this program but for the next level,” Rakestraw said.