CARTERET (NJ) – On this cold night at Walter Overholt Memorial Stadium, the Jersey Justice prepare for the first home game in team history. Curiosity forced me to get a look at the team in action before the game Saturday night, so I decided to take in a practice.

Before practice, Head Coach Gene Basile came by and chatted about the season to date, after two road games the Justice are 1-1 for the season. I asked Coach Basile what was the difference between the two teams his young squad has faced so far and the Justice.

“The biggest difference is the other teams have that cohesiveness as a team, they know how to play as a team. When things go wrong, they stuck together and played as a team. Most of our players are experiencing this (team concept in a physical game) for the first time as long as we keep battling everything will work out fine.” Basile said.

The Justice experienced both levels of competition in the opening weeks of the season. In week one, the Justice battled the Erie Illusion, another Tier II team, for an 8-6 victory. Week 2 saw the Justice fall to the New York Nemesis, a Tier I team. The IWFL separates their teams into tiers with the more experienced teams competing in Tier I.

The level of play was a surprise, as I really did not know what to expect on the drive to Carteret. Not to give away any game planning, but the Justice definitely have some players on their team. All of the players focused on Coach Basile as he walked the offensive line through their assignments before bringing the rest of the offense over for drills.

“I have been coaching football for 38 years (at different levels) and what I have to realize is this is most of their (the team) first time playing organized football, so I had to start at the basics with some of the players and teach the fundamentals. When coaching guys, they are familiar with the terminology and know what to expect because they have been playing since sixth, seventh grade, but with women I just have to break it down more, but they are learning fast.” Basile said.

Saturday, the undefeated (2-0) Carolina Queens travel to Carteret opening the home slate for the Justice. Another on field test for the Justice, but the another concern is the crowd turnout. A new team in town faces the obstacle of building a fan base and Saturday is the first time the product hits the field in front of the home fans.

Game time: 7 pm Saturday, April 25

Opponent: Carolina Queens

Place: Walter Overholt Memorial Stadium, (Carteret High School) 199 Washington Avenue, Carteret, NJ 07008.