Powell opens coaching shop, offers speed secrets to world

Athletes across a range of sporting disciplines who rely on speed for success can now learn from the man who once owned it, former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell.

Four years after stepping away from competition, the two-time World Championships 100m bronze medallist is officially open for business.

Speaking with The Gleaner at the National Stadium, the eight-time national champion revealed that he is now accepting coaching enquiries from around the world, offering his services as a high-performance consultant.

“I’m going to share that knowledge. It doesn’t make sense I have all this knowledge and just keep it to myself when I can help people better their sport,” Powell told The Gleaner.

“I’m not focusing on just track and field. If a basketball player wants to get faster, or American football, or our type of football which is soccer, if they want to get faster as well, I’m there to assist in that way,” he said.

Powell said his approach will not be a one-size-fits-all operation.

“My approach is a little bit different, you know, more boutique-style, catering for various parts of sprinting,” Powell disclosed.

“I’ve been approached numerous times, my DMs [are] filled with people wanting me to help them with their starts, wanting me to build their techniques,” he said.

“Anybody can coach somebody to be fit, but it takes a real good coach to work on the technical side of it, and that’s where I want to put my focus,” Powell added.

The credentials speak for themselves. Powell’s personal best of 9.72 seconds remains the fourth-fastest time in history, and he holds the Guinness World Record for the most sub-10-second 100m clockings, with 97 to his name.

The Sub-10 King, who spent two decades at the top of the sport, said his coaching will focus on four key areas, beginning with his trademark start and acceleration.

“The start, the first 60 metres, it always feels special, and I think every sprinter has always wanted to get that first 60 metres perfect. I think it’s one of the most important parts of the race,” he said.

Meanwhile, while the 43-year-old is considering the idea of starting his own track club, he has not ruled out a return to the camp that helped make him a star, MVP Track Club, where he rose to prominence under the late Stephen Francis.

“MVP is home, it’s where everything started, and coach created a system. A hundred per cent, if I’m called to go back to MVP to help with the coaching, I’ll definitely go, if it’s both me and Michael (Frater), because that’s where everything started, that’s how I became the Asafa Powell,” he reasoned, adding: “We have to make sure the coach’s legacy lives on”.

Powell closed out his career with five World Championships medals, including two sprint relay gold medals, as well as an Olympic sprint relay gold.

He said he is open to working with private athletes, colleges, universities, national federations and professional teams, while also hosting training camps and clinics.

kayon.raynor@rjrgleaner.com