Peterkin: daCosta teams must be ready for early high-intensity games

Ocho Rios High coach Veron Peterkin believes there will be little room for teams to ease into the upcoming Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) schoolboy daCosta Cup season as a new competition format is expected to force schools to be ready for high-intensity competition from the opening rounds.

With seeded teams entering at a later stage and four titles up for grabs, Peterkin said the revised format will require a different approach to preparation as teams can no longer rely on early matches to find their rhythm.

“We have to change our approach because normally, we use our first-round games as a warm-up, but now, we have to hit the ground running. Our periodisation has to change. So based on the fact that we can’t control it, we just have to focus on what is next, which is just getting the boys ready,” said Peterkin.