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Raymond, Rich, you're exactly right. There is not enough systematic training at the high school level. Some states make camp attendance a playoff requirement, but it appears that not enough officials go to camp even then. If local associations are able to put on camps and on court training sessions, either on their own or with state support, the quality of officiating will increase, because officials will have more practice. As of now, most officials only get game experience, so if all their games are 2-person (MS, Subvarsity, and rec games for non-varsity officials), how will they learn enough 3-person to become competent enough to do varsity games? If states require camp attendance every year (whether the local association, HS at the state level, an independent teaching camp, or a college camp), and provide some source of scholarships/support local association camps, more officials will be better trained, and we won't see a's extreme of a drop-off from varsity officials who know 3-person to newer varsity officials and JV officials who don't.
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