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D’Cup coaches express mixed views on six-day rule
September 13, 2024
Just days before the upcoming 2024-2025 Jamaica Premier League (JPL), some coaches in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/WATA daCosta Cup football competition have expressed mixed views about the six-day rule imposed by ISSA for schoolboys playing in the JPL.
Paul 'Tegat' Davis, coach of Rusea's High School, told STAR Sports that he has no issue with the rule.
"What I think is that most of the youths need to start playing more football. A long time we a play in JPL or the division one, so I don't see anything wrong with the rule. When a team drops out of the daCosta Cup, most of the players just go and sit down," Davis said.
"We need to find a way to keep them active. I believe that the daCosta Cup should be longer than three months. It is a good look to see if you can get the better players in the premier league," he added.
The rule states that players who participate in senior club competitions (Premier League or parish Major League) during the schoolboy season must take a rest period of six days before they are eligible to play in the Manning or daCosta Cup competitions again.
ISSA's main reasons for implementing the six-day rule is to protect players' health and prevent over-exertion.
Unlike Davis, Garrett Dennis, coach of Cambridge High School, said that the rule does not make much sense.
"When you look at the daCosta Cup you have two games in five days. Sometimes you have three games in five days, so from the JPL, it doesn't make sense. If you are playing on a Sunday and you have a game on a Tuesday or Wednesday, it is the same thing. I don't see the logic behind that, but it is what it is," Dennis said.
The schoolboy football season started on Saturday, September 7. The JPL season is geared to kick off on Sunday, September 15.
