CHOCOWINITY — Southside always seems to have some kind of adversity to overcome early in the basketball season. In 2015 and 2016, the football team’s run to consecutive regional-championship games delayed the start of basketball season.

That would give the Seahawks little practice time — let alone non-conference outings — before jumping right into league competition.

The result last year was seven-straight losses to begin the season. Southside didn’t earn a win until an overtime thriller at Lejeune on Jan. 27.

This year, the Seahawks won’t even play a home game until the calendars switch to 2018. They sit at 1-1 after a 75-46 win at Mattamuskeet last week. Those two games will be their only primers before today’s 1-A Coastal Plains Conference opener at a Pamlico County team favored to win the league title.

“I told the guys that we’re going to be tested early because we’re not playing in front of our home crowd. We’re going to be in a hostile environment almost every night we’re playing,” head coach Sean White said. “We’ve got to encourage our fans to go travel because they’re not going be able to see us until after Christmas. We’re going to find out what we’re made of.”

Tuesday’s games at Pamlico County will be the most telling early-season bouts. The Hurricanes and Lady Canes are both among the best the CPC has to offer. The competition should level out a bit afterwards as Southside then plays back-to-back games at Columbia on Thursday and at Jones Senior on Friday.

There are a lot of traps a team can fall into with such a long road swing. Yes, a win at a venue like Pamlico County would yield confidence. At the same time, struggles can be compounded when the Seahawks know they won’t be home until the beginning of January.

There’s also the prospect of being burnt out simply from the sheer amount of travel. These are all risks that, because of the way the schedule has shaken out, Southside has no choice but to take. However, White has his ways of minimizing the risks however he can.

“We’re trying to do some different things in practice,” White said. “I’m trying not to be repetitive. Being repetitive, a lot of times, they get bored doing the same thing every day. We’re doing different drills every day. I’m not doing the same thing. I’m mixing it up.”

Southside fans will have a chance to see their new-look team before the New Year. They won’t be home, but a cross-county trip to Pinetown for Northside’s Holiday Tournament is a feasible journey for most.

That way, the Seahawks’ faithful will have a chance to check out the likes of point guard Zack Green and forward Ivory Moore. The sophomore pair has settled in nicely for only being two games into their varsity debuts.

“I think it will be good. We play Washington in the first game (of the tournament),” White said. “We should bring people out for that just with that being on the schedule. Hopefully we’ll play well.”

Southside will then have plenty of practice time to address any deficiencies noticed during these road games. The Seahawks will start 2018 with a three-game home stand. It begins with Riverside on Jan. 2 and then a Friday-night showdown with rival Northside on Jan. 5.