I'm at the ripe old age of 24 and I NEVER start working out without stretching first. I also almost always stretch as part of my cool down too. When I was in high school I never ever stretched and I was fine but since I got in college I packed on about 50 lbs and that added weight makes stretching a necessity. But I'm working on getting back down to my fighting weight!
If stretching does not have a place in sports then why do a lot of elite coaches still have there athletes stretching? I've watched numerous Olympic athletes, NFL players, and NCAA athletes stretching. Most of the time you will see a lot of dynamic stretching to warm up and static stretching after warm up or during cool down stage.