Julian Krinsky, a former professional tennis player, started his camp 35 years ago as a place for kids to improve their tennis. But it has since grown beyond the sport to offer more than 20 programs.
Its pre-college camp for teenagers age 14 to 18 is held on campuses of top private colleges and universities in and around Philadelphia. Some of the schools include the University of Pennsylvania and Haverford College.
Kids in the pre-college camp can pick academic or sports-related specialties, such as architecture, digital journalism, international affairs, business, law, classical music and tennis, said Julian's wife, Tina Krinsky, the camp's chief visionary officer.
Tina said kids stay in college dorms and eat on campus. Many of the programs are taught by professors at those schools. "Parents at our camp are investing in a program that could help kids pick the right academic or career path for them in the future," she said.
Campers spend five-and-a-half hours a day learning about their specialty. Then they get five hours purely for fun, such as organizing talent shows or going to the movies and mall.
In 2008, the economic downturn hurt the camp. "Parents tightened their wallets," she said. To offset that, the camp started marketing overseas. "That's what insulated us," she said.
This year, Krinsky expects enrollment to pick up over last year.
Today, the camps host 4,500 campers each summer across all of its programs, and 40% of them come from abroad, including South America, Asia, Europe, China and Russia.
Ken Stamps' belief that more Americans want to do zip-lining in the states has paid off. His U.S. company made a million bucks.
