Now that the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) has won the battle against track and field coaches to make changes in the National Athletics Championships (Champs), we can only hope that this is the start of meaningful and far- reaching changes in high school sports.

If ISSA is to avoid appearing hypocritical and selective in where they want to make changes, then it’s only fair that we should anticipate further changes that will have far-reaching impact in rescuing our young sportsmen and – women from abuse.

The changes must start ironically in the two sporting events that bring in the most, if not all, the funds to ISSA — Champs and schoolboys’ football, namely the daCosta Cup and Manning Cup competitions.

The Champs schedule is lopsided with too many finals packed into the last two sessions – Friday afternoon and Saturday — something that was done intentionally to ensure a packed stadium over the last two days, which is great for television and brings in lots of revenue into ISSA’s coffers.

Champs used to be three days and the original schedule was the best then. But having been extended to five days, almost as long as an IAAF Under-18 and Under-20 championships, changes that have been suggested for years must now be effected, as there is enough time and opportunity afforded.

The 100 metre must be completed by Thursday at the latest, and some of the track finals on Saturday must be moved up earlier, if as ISSA says, it wants to take the pressure off the youngsters.

As it stands now, after the 100-metre final on Friday night, the 200 metre and 400-metre finals are still set for about an hour apart 24 hours later, and athletes taking part in the sprint events will most likely also run one or both relays.

Spreading the finals more evenly over the five days could work in everyone’s favour, as more people will attend Wednesday and Thursday, adding to the revenue intake.

It is hoped that the principals who were strident in their call to lessen the stress on the track and field athletes will be as strident in calling for wholesale changes in football, where the abuse of the students are even more evident than those allegedly in track and field.

For a number of years, teams routinely play three games in a seven-day period, sometimes even four, and ISSA’s only response is that each team can register 22 players and coaches must use their entire roster rather than overuse the better players.

Easier said than done.

Unless ISSA puts in rules to restrict the number of games each player can play in any given period, coaches will continue to play their best teams in a result-driven competition where the stakes are high.

This past season, daCosta Cup champions Cornwall College played 11 games in a 30-day span, including two trips to Kingston on successive weekends for the Flow Super Cup semi-finals and final, a trip to Clarendon and another to Santa Cruz three days after the second trip to Kingston.

On at least two occasions Kingston-based schools played Flow Cup games in Montego Bay on Saturday night and then had to return home and play a Manning Cup game on Monday afternoon.

Even at the youngest age, the Under-14, all-island champions Cornwall College were forced to travel to Mandeville three times in seven days to play must-win games — against teams that had the advantage of rest and less travel.

If ISSA can see overwork at Champs, which is over five days, surely the abuses in football should be more evident.

If the schoolboy football competitions are to help with the development of our best young players, then something must be done, and done now.

If ISSA insists that the season can only be between September and the first weekend of December, then it could mean not playing the Ben Francis and Walker Cup knockout competitions or the Flow Super Cup, or making fundamental changes to the scheduling, but we cannot continue this abuse of our best young players.