[JRutledge]

Having been an R in football for about 5 seasons some of the football mechanics will not translate. It is not required that you use your voice in football (unless you choose to verbalize every penalty), it is required that you use your voice in basketball. Also just because you were a referee does not mean you had good signal mechanics either. I see a lot of football Referees that never would stop to signal penalties. The biggest thing you will have a leg up on most officials is making calls and dealing with coaches in tough situations. Coaches in football yell about the same stupid stuff that they will in basketball, you just are in a more confined space when working basketball games. A basketball game can be a little more intense than football as well from beginning to end. The biggest advice is to work some camps during the spring and summer. Then you will be observed by veteran officials and assignors and they can tell you what to work on. Just watch as much basketball as you can and see how the officials handle themselves during calls and how they deal with coaches. If you do nothing but pick up on the demeanor of those officials, you will be ahead of many officials that have worked longer than you have. Also some of the very same principles of football will apply to basketball as it relates to advantage/disadvantage and hustle and positioning. So the fact that you have officiated another sport in the past will help you greatly if you applied the proper philosophies and worked hard in football. Good luck to you and I hope everything will work out for you.

Peace