Should You Ever Punt

This week's Sports Illustrated has an interesting article about a high school coach who does not punt. Especially in middle school football, I can very rarely see any benefit to punting. I've seen too many instances where the snap goes bad, the punt doesn't go very far, or its returned to basically the position the ball started. In every case it would've been better to run your best play and take your chances.
I also agree with an onside kick on every kick off. In most cases you're kicking the ball to guys not used to handling it, you don't give up much field position, you have an excellent chance of  recovering the ball, and you're keeping the ball away from the kids your opponent wants carrying the ball. There isn't much, if any, downside to the tactic. I know our varsity team wants the ball squib kicked between the hash mark and the sideline.