Pass User Input - Initializing Array In Method

I need to pass user input from the main method, which is then validated using another method that is returned as a valid score, and then I pass the valid input to another method that stores the data in an array. The array is initialized within the method. I tried to use an if-else statement to initialize the array, because I originally did this at the beginning of the method. I soon learned that I was creating a new array everything I accessed the method. Needless to say, this isn't working either.

public static void main(String[] args) {
int judges = 7;
float[] validScores = new float[judges];
for (int i = 0; i < judges; i++) {
float score = -1;

[Code] ....