About Us
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, and positive camp environment.
There is one staff member for every 6 or 7 children in our program.
Steve and Heather Buddie
Meet the Owners
Parents of Molly (21) and Luke (19), Steve is a former Stanford All-American wrestler and coach. He has directed camps throughout the Bay Area for over 25 years and now directs Decathlon year-round.
Heather was an All-American soccer player, also at Stanford. She has served as a longtime teacher in the Palo Alto Unified School District, currently teaching 3rd grade at Hoover Elementary.
They bring to Decathlon over 50 years of combined experience working with children.
Meet the Directors
Rich Wohlstadter
Founder of the Decathlon Sports Club, Rich has over 55 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 UCLA. Rich also taught and coached for 15 years at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. He currently serves as the camp's consultant and "godfather."
Jen Adolph
This will be Jen's 29th summer at the Decathlon Sports Club! She's a quintuple "Hall of Famer!" (2 as a camper, 2 as a JCIT, 4 as a JC, 4 as a counselor, and now 17 summers as a director.) During the school year Jen is a teacher at the Woodside Preschool and has been teaching there for the past 20 years. Jen is also the Athletic Director for the upper school at Woodside, where she is helping to create new programs for the student athletes.While not teaching, Jen enjoys reading, fitness, camping, and going to concerts! She is also the proud mother of Jojo (7), and Rocco (5). A bit of trivia...Jen was named Athlete of Year at Woodside High in 1998. Her sport: Basketball. Decathlon is Jen’s home away from home and cannot wait for another fantastic summer!!
Sinead Nelson
This will be Sinead's 12th year at Decathlon - 2 as a JC, a session as photographer, 4 years as a counselor, and now entering her sixth as a director. Sinead grew up dancing for Murphy Irish Dancers, but basketball has been her main passion since she started in middle school. She played basketball, soccer and ran cross country through high school, and in college also dabbled in intramural volleyball, spikeball, kickball, cornhole, softball, indoor soccer, pool basketball, and flag football.She earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 2015, and is one of the loudest and proudest Duck fans you’ll ever meet. She then headed further north to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where she earned her Masters in Sport and Athletic Administration. This fall she entered her third year in El Camino High School's physical education and athletic departments. Sinead is thrilled to be back at Decathlon for what will surely be her best summer yet!
Andy Bligh
This will be Andy's 17th summer at Decathlon - 9 years between camper and JCIT, 4 as a JC, 3 as a counselor, and now he's back as a director! Born and raised in Redwood City, Andy's grown up with DSC and has been through every part of our program. He played a bit of everything growing up (baseball, basketball, soccer) and in true Decathlon fashion kept exploring new sports at Woodside High playing water polo and lacrosse. College sparked a love for volleyball, softball, and golf and today he's an outdoorsman who can be found surfing, skiing, and hiking all across California. He earned his bachelors from Cal Poly SLO in 2015 in Industrial Technology. He spent the next 8 years in corporate finance to find his calling, only to find his true passion is right back where he started. He couldn't be more excited to be back and we're sure his infectious, fun-loving energy will make this summer an all-timer!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!