About Us

The Decathlon Sports Club was founded in 1981 by Scott Berridge and Rich Wohlstadter. They grew up in neighborhoods where the kids came outside after dinner and played stickball, pickle, football, basketball, hide-and-seek, 3-flies-up, traded cards, had water fights, etc. That childhood experience provided the foundation and inspiration for this camp.

The camp environment we have created and fostered feels a lot like that 'old neighborhood', with sports, games and socializing going on almost non-stop. Contests, barbeques, slip & slide, water fights, swimming, treasure hunts, trivia, arts & crafts, hide and seek, tug-of-war, kick-the-can, tons of laughter, board games, card-trading, prizes.... These things, in combination with structured sports and instruction, create the simultaneously relaxed, crazy, fun and educational feel of our program. This is a wonderful place for children to play, get tons of exercise, and develop socially, physically, and athletically.

The Decathlon Sports Club of Los Altos began small (with just 20 children). We now proudly serve over 700 families from Palo Alto to Los Gatos each summer. Yes, we have grown and evolved quite a bit, but our goal and focus has always remained the same....great staff, hard work, emphasis on safety and service, attention to detail, individualized attention, and understanding and catering to those things that children enjoy and need.

Jeff and the other camp directors don't just direct the program, they LIVE the program.

We are looking forward to another great summer (our 43rd) and we hope you will be part of it! 

The Heart of Our Program

 

Our Camp Staff

The teachers, coaches, and university and high school student/athletes that make up our staff are the heart of our camp program. Many of our staff are former campers. Most return for multiple summers, working their way from junior counselor to counselor. This creates the wonderful sense of community, continuity, and tradition that sets our program apart. All our counselors and senior staff are CPR and First Aid certified. Our entire staff, from JCITs to Directors, are extremely motivated and dedicated to create and maintain a fun, safe, educational, supportive, positive camp environment.


There is one staff member for every 6 or 7 children in our program.

 
 

Meet the Directors

Scott Berridge (on the left)

Founder of our Los Altos program. Scott is a local boy (born in Palo Alto) and has lived within walking distance of our Los Altos camp location for the past 51 summers. He holds a B.S. in Human Performance from San Jose State University and has taught physical education to boys and girls ages 6-13 since 1982. Scott was a three-sport athlete at Homestead High and over the years has coached numerous youth sports teams including baseball, football, track and basketball. Scott is the proud father of four great kids (3 girls/1 boy) and all four have attended and worked at the camp.

Rich Wohlstadter (on the right)

Founder of the Decathlon Sports Club, Rich has over 50 years of summer camp experience. Rich is not sure if he should be proud or embarrassed, but he hasn't missed a year of summer camp since he was 7 years old! He holds a B.A. from Stanford and a Masters in Education from U.C.L.A. Rich also taught and coached for 15 years at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. While no longer an everyday onsite Director, Rich continues to serve as a camp consultant, mentor, and godfather of our program.

Jeff Berridge

Proud husband to Jessica and father of Duke and Jack. Jeff is a second-generation camp director and the son of Scott! Jeff has over 25 years of camp experience, as he has been attending or working at camp since he was five years old. He loves sports, has a passion for play, and shares his knowledge with our campers. In high school, Jeff was a three-sport athlete; he played four years of NCAA Basketball for the University of Notre Dame De Namur. He graduated from the University Of Notre Dame De Namur (2010) with a Degree in Business and Finance. Jeff also currently teaches physical education.

Neal Swank

Neal grew up and lives locally. He attended St. Francis HS where he now teaches history and coaches football and basketball. He earned his BA at UC Davis in 2001. Neal is the father of two great boys (both Hall Of Fame campers) and is excited to return to camp for his 24th consecutive summer (his 20th as a director)!

We're Hiring!

We're Hiring!

We've hired a lot of really great people over these many wonderful summers. Our staff is truly the heart of our camp!