By Cliff White 

Staff Writer

Donovan Powell, who competed for Jamaica as a sprinter in the 2000 Olympic Games, will be teaching speed enhancement clinics at Gorham’s Yourspace facility April 21 to 25.

Powell’s four by 100-meter relay team finished fourth in Sydney. After retiring as an athlete, he coached his younger brother, Asafa Powell, who has repeatedly broken the world record in the 100-meter dash and is the favorite to win the event at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 

Donovan Powell is now a youth coach in Texas.

“I’m excited to come up to Maine,” Powell said. “I love working with kids who want to learn and who have the desire to get faster.”

Yourspace, formerly known as the Gorham Sports Center, was purchased in February at auction by the Southern Maine Community Recreation Center, a group of Gorham residents dedicated to preserving the space as a year-round recreational facility. Built in 2004, the 50,000-square-foot lies on 17 acres of land at 215 Narragansett Street and features a large artificial grass turf. The center is home to youth and adult leagues in sports such as soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football.

“It’s pretty incredible we’re able to provide the same training the world’s fastest man is getting from his coach,” SMCRC Board Member Adam Sturtevant said. “It’s a pretty unique situation and we are happy to have it going on at Yourspace.”

Powell said he will lead several one-and-a-half hour training sessions dedicated to teaching “fast-twitch exercises.”

“‘Fast-twitch exercises’ are exercises focusing on developing the muscles you use for strength and speed,” Sturtevant said. “This training is designed to give you more quickness, more explosiveness in your sprints, which can really help athletes of most sports – it’s not just for track athletes.”

“These are the exercises used by the major professional sprinters,” Powell said. “You can tell the difference of an athlete who uses these techniques. And they are drills you can learn to do on your own.”

Powell said he will be teaching the same exercises his brother has used in becoming the world’s fastest man. 

“No matter what kind of athlete you are, this will help you get a couple steps faster,” Powell said. “It will give you the competitive advantage – it will allow you to be able to put your opponent behind you without a chance to catch up.”

Sessions will run 6 to 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Monday, April 21, 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, 4 to 5:30 and 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 24 and 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, April 25.

Sessions are for both male and female athletes and cost $60 per session. Space is still available in most sessions, Sturtevant said.

For more information or to sign up, call 839-6767 or go to www.yourspacemaine.com.