I may have missed this somewhere, but I am interested about why I've never seen what I believe is the simplest suggestion for getting more, better refs... Pay them more.
As with any profession you get some people who love reffing or do it out of a sense of obligation, for whom the money has little relevance, but for a lot of people money is a motivator. Instead of expecting a change in SC HS soccer culture, why not consider rewarding them more for what is a very difficult and often thankless job? I agree that some of the best refs are recent college players, and in my opinion offering more money would probably increase the pool of recent college athletes willing to try reffing.
By the way, he certainly allowed a physical game but I thought the head ref in the 4A final did an overall good job - particularly in terms of consistency.
