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I agree with teaching 3-man after the first year. This would allow the newer officials to see the connections between 2 and 3-person officiating (the 2-person Trail position is more similar to the Center position of a 3-person crew than to its 3-person namesake), get familiar with the 3-person system (with possible reinforcement in non-scholastic leagues and/or subvarsity games), and be considered as varsity alternate officials. 3rd years might then start seeing a limited varsity schedule (with more assignments depending on ability and availability), and thus there will be a pipeline of qualified 3-person officials to supplement and eventually replace the veterans.
ODog, what is the situation like in MA when it comes to 3-person? I know that MA uses 3-person in the playoffs, that some varsity games are 2-person, and that the MIAA handbook addresses 3-person game fees by saying they should be no more than 85% of the 2-person fee. Are 3-person games between bigger schools, private school teams, or are they randomly spread across the board? Is it different in different boards (Board 27 doing more 3-person games than Board 54)?
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