Fun time in the city
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on June 22, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
New skater Genesis Cole, 6, skates hand-in-hand with fellow Parks and Recreation camper Kenna Albert, 11, during a group trip to Round-A-Bout Skating rink on Thursday afternoon.
Josh Williams grew up participating in the Parks and Recreation summer camps.
He spent his summer in the city pools and going on field trips to the science museum.
And as an adult not much has changed.
This is his third summer working as a camp counselor.
"I went here back in the day -- the late '90s," he said.
"We used to do a lot of things we can't do now, but it's fun."
On Thursday, he helped supervise the 24 campers who took to the rink at the Round-A-Bout.
The counselors worked hard last week to find activities to keep the children active and engaged indoors.
"We don't stay outside as much, and we give them a lot of water," Josh said.
The campers are there from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and their days are filled with activities like swimming in the pools, bowling or skating.
They have leisure and reading times as well as game times.
"They're anxious this week," Josh said. "They're glad to be out of school."
He mediated and directed the skating campers, making sure everyone was having fun and staying safe.
With his evenings, Josh works at Round-A-Bout. He has been at the rink for five years, which has given him ample opportunity to hone his skating skills.
It is Josh's cool tricks and skills that impress the campers.
"I can skate better backward than forward," he said. "I can skate only on my front two wheels."
He offered advice and lessons to the more timid skaters.
"You have to relax, that's the first rule," he said. "You have to fall in order to get better."
Although a pro, he says the skating rink is his least favorite trip.
"This is work. I like the pool," he said.
Last week, the campers made three trips to the pools. They went to the theater to see "Paddington" and visited Westbrook Park in Mount Olive.
Each week the schedule gets shuffled a little to keep it interesting.
Camp employee Wanda Reid says they see a lot of repeat campers and want to keep them excited each day.
"We switch activities and put big trips in," she said.
On Tuesday, the campers will go to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Museum.
But it isn't the fancy trips or cool city pools that impress 9-year-old Jordan Barrett.
He likes the pool and is a speed skater, but he prefers the camp games more than anything else he does.
"I like Octopus best," he said.
Octopus is a version of tag, where once the person who is "it" tags someone and they then become "rooted" in the ground and can only use your arms -- or "tentacles" -- to tag other campers.
Jordan has been coming to the camp for four years.
"I like doing different things," he said.
He flew around the rink on Thursday, making tight turns and weaving around the slower skaters.
"I think you should take baby steps if it is your first time skating," he advised.
Shevis Singleton was happy to be active.
He also enjoys playing Octopus the most.
This is his third year at camp, and he can't imagine spending his summers any other way.
"I'd rather be here instead of being lazy at home, because here I'm being active," he said.
Registration for the third week of the Parks and Recreation summer camp will be open until Friday. To register for the program, visit www.goldsboroparksandrec.com.
The cost is $50 to participate in one week's worth of activities with lunch by K&W Cafeteria included.