‘Controlled Chaos’ : Boys & Girls Club Keeps Children Busy After School

It’s 4 p.m. in the main game room of the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club, and the place is awash in the sights and sounds of happy children.

Throughout the Temple Avenue building, kids are playing pool, Foosball and board games. Laughter--oscillating between high-pitched shrieks and a low roar--fills the rooms.

In the gymnasium, the staccato of basketballs hitting the hardwood floor reverberates to the ceiling and back. Kids contort as they shoot hoops under the watchful eyes of a recreation supervisor. An hour later, these future Michael Jordans will be replaced with dozens of white-robed miniature Bruce Lees as a karate class begins.

In an adjoining room, an imaginary tea party has begun. Next door, future golf stars are practicing their putting and, nearby, another group is staging a mock wedding.

“The best description we can think of is that it’s a state of controlled chaos,” said Jay Grigsby, the club’s executive director for the past 5 1/2 years. “We think it’s healthy for kids to have some fun after school. We have to remember that they need to blow off steam every once in awhile, just like we (adults) do.”

To make sure that the scores of kids who daily descend upon the club keep disputes about the position of a cue ball or the possession of a favorite doll good-natured, a small cadre of adult supervisors stand by to keep the peace.

“We keep a sharp eye on our kids,” Grigsby said. “We don’t permit violence or rough-housing. We expect and want kids to have a good time, but we also expect them to demonstrate good behavior.”

With more than 2,000 Camarillo-area children enrolled and about 200 to 300 kids visiting the facility each day, club officials launched a fund-raising drive to pay for an expansion and remodeling program for the 21-year-old building.

The building goal--$1.3 million--was reached earlier this month, and construction is slated to begin early in the spring, Grigsby said.

Plans call for the facility to be expanded by several thousand square feet, with the new rooms housing computer labs, learning centers and a meeting place for teen-agers. Grigsby said an additional $1 million will be raised to help endow the club and its programs. The club operates on an annual budget of about $500,000, he said.

First established in a little house on Barry Street in 1967, the club, one of the largest and oldest in Ventura County, offers more than sports and games.

Besides traditional athletics, the club offers boys and girls programs in drama, cooking, self-defense and computing, as well as help in completing homework.

Tricia Yates, the club’s operations director, said the facility has worked hard to become a place where parents know that their children will be safe and have their minds engaged.

“(Boys & Girls Clubs) have been known as the clubs that beat the streets,” Yates said. “Here in Camarillo, the problems we face don’t involve just beating the streets: It’s finding new ways to challenge and stimulate the kids intellectually and culturally.”

Mark Lisagor, a pediatric dentist who has served on the club’s board of directors for 14 years, says the role of the club in providing a quality after-school program has become increasingly important to many area families.

“Very often kids are left with a part-time sitter, Nintendo and the television,” Lisagor said. “We want a place were the kids are in a safe environment that is structured but not too structured. We want to give them a place were they can have fun and learn new things.”

Although some services, such as bus transportation, cost extra, the club’s basic enrollment fee is $12 a year for children 6 to 18, club officials said. The facility is open from 2 to 8 p.m. during the school year and longer during the summer.

“There is so much for them to do,” said Chris McGivney, 35, whose sons, 9-year-old Andrew and Matthew and 10-year-old Christopher, visit the club several times a week. “I can’t believe what a great program this is. The boys like it and I like it.”

Ken Villa, a 35-year-old aerospace designer, said he is more comfortable at work in Moorpark knowing that his son, Michael, 7, is in a safe and supervised program.

“We have been involved with the club for about a year now and I have had no complaints,” Villa said. “For those days when no one is going to be home until later in the day, you can’t beat this.”

Stretched out on a green expanse of carpeting, 8-year-old Jayce Couplin cannot be bothered by the inquiries of a visitor--after all, he’s commanding a plastic army in what appears to be an epic battle.

“These guys have the mortars,” Jayce said. “They’re good, but the army with the tanks are better.”

Nearby, 8-year-old Stephanie Mince is playing the role of a sleeping family cat while her friends act out the parts of parents getting the evening supper together.

“They’re fixing mushroom soup and I’m going to get some,” the black-masked Stephanie said. “I like playing the kitty because everyone pays attention to me.”

Nearby, in a quieter area away from the games room, Ventura College student Arlene Sadowsky is helping a handful of children get through their homework.

Sadowsky, a 20-year-old Camarillo resident, says she attended the club when she was a child. She now volunteers time each week between classes, where she is studying to become a pediatric nurse.

“As a kid, I spent a lot of time here. I just wanted to give something back,” Sadowsky said. “I’ve had some very happy days here and I wanted to help.”