CARTERET – The Jersey Justice season ended on a sour note in Canada last season as they fell in the 9-8 in the IWFL Regional Championship Game to the Montreal Blitz. Entering their second season, the Justice began the process of filling the gaps necessary to take that next step by holding their final tryouts at the Civic Center Sports Complex in Carteret.

A mixture of returning players and first-year athletes attended the tryout and worked out in two groups. Head coach Gene Basile worked with the 14 skilled position players on basic route running and coverage drills. The absence of quarterback, Maegan Larsen hampered the drills somewhat, but Basile and returning receiver, Leslie Busch picked up the slack throwing passes.

“I’m hoping to field a team with 30-33 players, enough to keep everyone productive and eliminate the standing around doing nothing in practice,” Basile said.

That would be a big help, as the Justice dressed 16 players for their spectacular playoff run that ended in Canada. Injuries depleted the depth last season, but the team fought on, finishing with a 6-4 record.

Assistant coach Billy Lockward focused on agility drills when working with the offensive line. Lockward also took a step back to explain some of the basic termanology to the new players.

“At this point, I just had to see how the moved, especially their footwork. I needed to get a gauge on where we are as a unit,” Lockward said.

The tryout ended with Basile informing that everyone present advanced to the next step, practice in February. He warned them not to take the three months lightly and advised everyone work on their conditioning.

More information about the Justice can be found on their webpage http://justicefootball.com and more pictures from the tryout can be found at the following links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121467&id=157514003731

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121449&id=157514003731