Help Wanted-High School Officials

[SCalScoreKeeper]

found this article on the football board and thought it might spark some discussions as to why we are not getting younger as a group

Help wanted: High school officials - StarTribune.com

My Officiating Story-I was a former scorekeeper at the high school level ('05-'06 thru '07-'08 and '09-'10 thru '11-'12) who decided to put on a whistle 2 years ago (entering my 3rd year) and absolutely fell in love with officiating as a way to stay connected to volleyball even though my scorekeeping days were over.

the article for me sparked a few questions?

A. What are our associations doing to recruit and retain new officials?

B. How are we attempting to reach the seniors we come in contact with each season and encourage them to stay involved thru officiating?
-For me I try to remind them that putting on a whistle is a great way to make some extra money during for college and you get to stay involved with a sport you love. A lot of times I'll try to plant the seed thru the coaches especially as we're winding down the regular season and the seniors are contemplating what they're going to do next year.

C. What are we doing to ensure the next generation of officials is ready for high level play and not just content to stay at the level they are?
-I have worked way more than the minimum number of required on court hours in each of my years in the association. The key to improvement is practice and feedback which we get plenty of during the summer thru our observation sheets at every summer league we work.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers. Is anyone about ready to start regular season play out there?