GARDEN GROVE : Youths Praise Start of Blyleven Program

Sukhpreet Singh smacked a yellow tetherball with his fist and shouted in triumph as it spiraled swiftly around the pole, out of his opponent’s reach.

Basking in victory moments later, Sukhpreet, 11, said he was thrilled to join a free new program that sponsors organized games, sports and tutoring after school.

“It’s fun,” he said. “You have different activities and everything, instead of staying at home and watching TV.”

Sukhpreet is one of about 100 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at Peters Elementary School who have joined the after-school recreation program run by former California Angels’ pitcher Bert Blyleven.

Called BLAST, for Bert Blyleven League, After School Time, the program that began last weekprovides adult-supervised games, academic tutoring and sports clinics by professional athletes, said program director Angela Bunch.

Bunch said the program offers children powerful alternatives to joining gangs, by providing more positive activities and role models. Between 3 and 5 p.m. each day, a team of paid counselors from the Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove supervise dozens of children.

“We wanted to focus their energies and we wanted to reach them now,” to help them stay interested in school and avoid dropping out or joining gangs, Bunch said. She added that “the best part is just to see the smiles on their faces. I want them to go away from here feeling that adults care.”

During one recent afternoon, youngsters split up into groups that scrimmaged in soccer, learned to compete in chess, played board games including Clue, and tossed flying disks.

Matt Cutler, 12, said he was pleased that the program offered so much to do: “If I wasn’t here, I’d probably just sit around at home and play Nintendo. For kids who sit around all day, this is time to . . . play and have fun.”