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Agreed, P&Y...I assumed two separate subjects due to the designation of the plural "concerns" at the end...and also the assertion about rules of compound subjects. I wasn't going to dig too deeply into the parallel structure of the compound subjects just to avoid further muddying the waters...I've found if you correct too many errors at once, none of them sink in. Still, by the reversal rule for predicate nominatives, if we are labeling these as "concerns," we would have to say "The foremost concerns ARE governing the tempo of the match and (monitoring the) safety of the players." Therefore, the plural verb would have to be used in the reverse order as well. Thank you for picking up where I left off with the lesson on parallel compound subject structure!

P & Y,

"Hail fellow, well met"...there is intelligent life on this forum. Anything substantive to add reference officiating and the SCHSL?

Mucho fun, Coach C—not sure why some don't see this as substantive—:)

what's next—i popped in on this back on p. 5—written much on ref'ing—possibly all falling on deaf ears—alas—

Agreed once again, P&Y! No offense, what's next--just having a bit of fun. It started with a question of semantics, and I couldn't resist getting up to some antics of my own.

Now, as for something "substantive" related to the original debate...my apologies to all for the detour...

Sadly, there seems to be a dearth (SAT word alert!) of available officials in many areas of the state. I agree that raising the standards for training and accountability of officials (compound object of the preposition "for"--parallel, n'est-ce pas, P&Y?) would help immensely. Trouble is, it's hard to force accountability when the available pool of officials is so small. We always try to have a three-man system in place for varsity matches, but the fact is that there are literally not enough officials to go around on a Tuesday or Friday night for everyone to have three; officials are assigned on a priority basis (matches that have greatest significance in the standings getting first dibs on three) and the rest are divided up after that. I hope that as soccer continues to grow as a sport in SC, more and more people will become involved and increase our pool of willing officials...I for one am grateful for those who have come to do the job here at Berkeley.

Without the diatribe on mechanics...simply focusing on the game...

Why is soccer under officated? I am not convinced there is a "dearth" of available officials. I coach club as well and we always have the required three by the "Laws". Many officals that I am acquainted with will not participate in high school.

Is there competitive compensation for officials with other sports?

Why can the SCHSL pick and choose which NFHS" rules" to emphasize?

Good Q's, what's next—especially the silly "emphasis" stuff of SCHSL—year after year something different is "emphasized" as if shin guards or some such is the most important thing in the world—no such "focus" in club—

I'm not sure how the fees compare to other sports; I think the base pay for a center ref for a HSL varsity match is around $40 per game (usually a two-game night, girls/boys or jv/varsity). Any feedback from the officials you know as to why they refuse to participate in HS matches?

Professionalism...earning AYSO or USSF certification. SCHSL not requiring either. The same reason that most club coaches consider H.S. coaches as amateurs or "boys'" league. No requirement for demonstrated proficiency. This would undermine the entire SCHSL.

So...they refuse to participate because they feel overqualified for the job? Seems a bit counterproductive...I would think the more certified officials we have in the ranks, the higher the overall level level of officiating would be--accepting, of course, that a certification necessarily indicates a higher level of performance (not always true). Perhaps it would help if more officials with higher certification would come and bring examples of officiating to the masses, rather than walking away...