It’s been a rough start for the Trojans of Charles Henderson on the basketball court.

After the first five games of the season, the team in orange and blue has yet to record a victory, as the team has lost to Dothan twice, Barbour County, Opelika and Enterprise.

While CHHS may be young and searching for its first win, that is not something that head coach Carl Hollis is concerned about because his team is getting something that will make all the difference in the end – experience.

“We are a young group,” he said. “But we are getting the experience needed to make a difference, and the kids are ready to do what it takes to win.

“We have played some good teams early on in the season, and that’s what I wanted. It’s been a tough stretch of games, but I wanted our guys to see how they have to play against quality competition – I want our guys to grow up along the way.”

Growing up is what the team will have to do since the majority of the group is made up of underclassmen, 10 to be exact.

But even with the lack of experience, Hollis said he is beginning to see leaders emerge.

“At the beginning of the season, there weren’t any leaders stepping up for us,” the coach explained.

“But during the past couple of games, guys like Da’Vantez Jordan, Tyler Mitchell, Michael Zackery and Devin Davenport have begun to take control of the team. And now, what I am seeing is the kids developing what looks to be a good nucleus as a ball club.”

Zackery, a returning starter from a season ago, is the lone senior on the Trojans this season.

Those leaders will have a shot at leading their team to getting some early revenge as the Trojans will be playing Dothan, Barbour County and Enterprise all at home before the Christmas break.

Those games provide CHHS with some interesting opportunities, according to Hollis.

“We have been in every one of our games with the exception of the Barbour County game,” Hollis said.

“We have been beating ourselves though with turnovers and poor shooting. But during the Enterprise Tournament, I thought we looked a lot better on the court.

“I’m one of those optimistic coaches,” he added. “We have gained a lot of experience and have played hard. I knew we were going to need some experience coming into the season, but I expect these guys to continue to get better and better by the time the season is over with. If anything, our record tells me that these kids will be playing in the state final four by the time they are seniors, or even by next season. They are learning valuable things right now.”

On Tuesday night, the home opener for the Trojans was scheduled against Greenville, however, with the inclement weather, the game was postponed until Thursday.

All three teams, boys junior varsity, girls varsity and boy varsity, will be in action against their rivals from Greenville.

“Last season, we surprised Greenville when they played us at home,” Hollis said.

“But they are going to be like a lot of the teams we have already seen this season – they have everyone coming back. They made it to the region tournament and have a pretty good team, but the one thing I have noticed about our guys this season is they won’t back down, they are going to fight for everything. And as a coach, you love to see that.”