SEASIDE – Shouts rang out and volleyballs thumped the gym floor as six preteens practiced under the watchful eye of Coach Lou Kaczenski. That is, between cartwheels, clapping games, playing with hair, pushing, teasing, arguing and giggling. Lots of giggling.

“I love sports,” said Antona Ferry, the most dedicated cartwheeler.

Harley Mihalek did the limbo under the net at one point. Then there’s Tori Miller, who’s more energy efficient – she likes to lie down on the court. Five-minute breaks were greeted joyfully, with a shout of “Woohoo, break!” just before someone ran into a wall.

The program is appreciated, however. One girl said she couldn’t take part in sports before moving to Seaside, because her family couldn’t afford it. The after-school “Sportz ROXX” program, which is part of Sunset Empire Parks and Recreation, is free.

Kaczenski held up the bright yellow balls for the kids to spike over the net, threw them to simulate conditions for bumping and setting, and deliberately tossed the balls to one side or the other. The last exercise is to train the children to move under the ball.

“See how Tori’s moving, staying low,” Kaczenski encouraged. He finished with a scrimmage game of himself and two high-school girls against the kids. As many as 18 kids come for the sports.

“I’m just trying to help them build some skills and have some fun,” he said.

He expects more participants when the group starts basketball in January, especially more boys. Sunset Empire will try to arrange games with the Jewell School District and Star of the Sea School in Astoria.

Sportz ROXX, which stands for “Recreational Opportunities make X-treme X-periences,” is held at Seaside Heights Elementary, with a bus bringing kids from Broadway Middle School. Sunset Empire also runs another ROXX program for kindergarten through high school. Each program costs about $28,000 a year.

Activities at the after-school program include Odyssey of the Mind, a problem-solving workshop where kids are currently making an inflatable house from balloons and garbage bags. Also included are culinary arts, photography and forensic studies.

“The instructor does fake crime scenes for them to investigate,” Sunset Recreation Manager Zoe Manhire said. “We go between paid instructors and volunteer instructors. Whatever we can get.”

Other earlier activities include drama and service learning projects. “Teaching about community services and what they can do to help is very important for a healthy community,” Manhire said.

For teenagers who prefer a less structured environment, there is a room with a big-screen TV, pool and air hockey tables and comfortable chairs. The room is open after school until 7 p.m., from 1 to 5 p.m. weekends, and as a lunchtime retreat for Broadway Middle School students Tuesday through Friday.

“Instead of going out and getting wet, you can come in here and have fun – and they have free popcorn,” Brittany Washington said. To earn the “Broadway Bucks” she needs to gain admission, Washington helped clean up the cafeteria, did her schoolwork and “turned in most of my homework.”

Manhire said children are much better off in an after-school program than as latchkey kids; it’s good for parents too.

“All parents need the support of the community. It’s hard raising kids and working,” Manhire said. “This provides a safe place for their kid and they don’t have to worry. And the kids are learning things in a fun way.”

Along with allowing kids to experience stained-glass art, baking a cake or yoga, after-school programs reduce juvenile crime by helping kids relate to adults, Manhire said.

“They feel comfortable with the adults and they have somebody to go to when they have to make tough decisions,” she said. Also, kids with something positive to do are less likely to get into drugs or petty crime. Manhire gave an example of a girl who was constantly getting into trouble after school because she was bored. That girl now has one of the highest attendance rates for the program, because she enjoys the activities.

“We’ve seen kids just come in that basically all they’ve done in the past is hang out in the streets,” Manhire said.

ROXX is funded by donations, grants and the Sunset Ladies calendar. Calendar sales, which will start Dec. 15, are hoped to raise $20,000 at $20 each. The calendars have coupons from local merchants and are a raffle ticket as well.

The program can always use donations, and especially more computers for games and homework, Manhire said, but ROXX coordinator Darren Gooch needs volunteers even more. Kaczenski will also need volunteer basketball coaches.

“I believe it’s everybody in the community’s responsibility, if you want a healthy community,” said Manhire, whose office features a poster of “150 ways to show kids you care.”

Those interested in volunteering, call Darren Gooch at (503) 738-3311 ext. 131.