SCHENECTADY — After a couple hours in the water, children say, a funny thing happens. Swimming gets a little boring. The water starts to feel really cold.

That’s when the trouble used to start at Quackenbush Pool.

“They would go to the basketball court and just fight over whatever basketball game was going on,” pool operator Julie McKane said.

Now, however, children who climb out of the pool on Forest Road are redirected to half a dozen other activities, all designed to keep them happy, interested, and, most of all, busy.

For three years it’s worked like a charm. Under the management of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady, the pool workers have called police only a handful of times, a stark change from the riots and fights that closed the pool in the past. At its worst, police were called four times a day to stop fights that occasionally endangered the lifeguards.

The games that children play today might look a little like the riots of the past. On Tuesday, 22 children were flinging balls at each other with all their might in a game of dodgeball that left several young boys holding their groins in pain.

But nobody argued, punched or even threatened anyone else, no matter how badly a ball missed the legal hit zones.

When the children tired of smashing each other with spongy balls, supervisors taught them badminton and volleyball. They run four hours of sports clinics every day.

But that’s just the beginning. Swimmers with acting in their blood join the Drama Club every Tuesday and Thursday. Wet scientists climb out of the pool for Science Club on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the Reading Club is so popular that it meets three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Musicians record their own music twice a week and children who hunger for a challenge participate in team-building exercises every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Friday mornings are reserved for special events — this week, the Thacher Park Nature Center will run water pollution and animal games, and may even bring some salamanders and other wildlife.

“Schools are eliminating field trips and we don’t have a lot of wildlife-type of area down here so it’s nice to have them come to us,” McKane said. “We try to keep it fun so they forget they’re learning over the summer. It’s so they have an option — not everyone wants to swim.”

big hits

Children can’t get enough of it. The dry-land activities are actually more popular than the pool.

“They come even when the pool is closed,” McKane said. “When it’s a cold day or a cloudy day, they can still come to the park and do activities.”

Last year, the clubs cut back on dry-land activities, and children expressed their displeasure by leaving early or avoiding the pool on cold days. This year, McKane said the park seems to be averaging 100 visitors a day — a 15 percent increase over the average daily attendance before the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady took over in 2006.

Older children said they come solely for the dry-land activities.

“I don’t really like swimming that much,” said Talik Morales, 12. “I like being outside with lots of people. Last year we didn’t do this, all we did was basketball tournaments.”

Others said the activities are a welcome break from swimming.

“The pool gets cold,” explained Le’Liece Lassiter, 9. She warmed up after hours of swimming by playing dodgeball.

Others play on dry land until they can’t stand the heat anymore.

“I like drawing and painting. When I’m really hot, I want to go in the pool,” said Mckenzie Klimek, 8.

They all agreed that the park is far better this year because of the increased activities.

“They have more fun stuff to do,” said Carlos Alleyne, 9, who outlasted children much older than him on the dodgeball court. “You can even play volleyball in the pool.”

McKane said that on hot days, when no one wants to get out of the water but swimming is losing its appeal, they toss balls into the pool and run sports clinics in the water.

“If we can’t get them out of the water, we’ll bring the games to them,” she said.

But that’s not usually a problem.

“Earlier we had a giant badminton game. It was huge, every kid and every staff member in the park was over here. It lasted an hour,” McKane said. “There’s more kids on the dodgeball court than in the pool right now.”

Sure enough, 22 children were playing dodgeball with four supervisors, while 18 others swam under the watching eyes of five lifeguards. Another eight children were making masks at the arts and crafts station, and two children were absorbed in a board game.

Not one child was misbehaving.

“It’s obviously apparent that it has worked,” McKane said. “Everywhere you turn, there’s a staff member. They’re all over the park. If anything occurs, we’re on top of it. If they’re fighting, we can redirect them to books, games, sports, and they forget they’re mad.”