WESTFIELD — One of Adam Schleyer’s biggest dreams became a reality last month. The Westfield 10-year-old is heading for the National Ninja League (NNL) World Championship.

Schleyer, a fourth grader at Abner Gibbs Elementary School, competed for the first time at a regional NNL championship to qualify for next month’s world championship in Greensboro, N.C.

He qualified at the New England Regional championships in February by placing 11th in a field 116 children in the Mature Kids Male Division for 9- and 10-year-olds. With one of the largest fields of contenders, it was also one of hardest competitions.

“I’m really excited about going,” said Schleyer, who has trained on “ninja warrior” skills since he was 5. “One of my goals was to qualify for worlds — and now I’ll have a chance to be one of the top three finishers.”

The NNL, formed in 2015, is an elite series of ninja skills competitions with 35 regions around the world and 16 age divisions for athletes to qualify for the worlds.

The ninja sport — inspired by several reality TV shows, including “American Ninja Warrior” and “American Ninja Warrior Junior” — is a form of obstacle course racing. Athletes attempt to complete all obstacles consecutively in a predetermined order without any significant distance running in between.

At the regional competition, children in Schleyer’s division were judged on how many obstacles they could complete before missing an obstacle, as well as how quickly they moved through 10 to 15 obstacles.

“Once ninjas mess up — an obstacle falls, they touch something they shouldn’t, can’t complete an obstacle or run out of time — then their time stops,” explained Schleyer’s mother, Jennifer Rollo. The top ninjas making it the furthest into the course with the quickest time are the winners.

This is Schleyer’s first year competing for an NNL team at the Windsor Ninja Academy in Windsor, CT. It is a dedicated NNL facility where he trains for more than two hours twice a week.

Before joining the NNL, Schleyer was part of USA Ninja Challenge and competed with the Sterling Academy of Gymnastics in Sterling, MA. When he became more serious about the sport, his mother said they moved him to the Windsor facility to allow Schleyer to advance his skills and compete with the NNL.

Schleyer got into the competition after watching a video.

“I saw these kids doing this really cool ninja stuff,” he said.

At practices, trainers work on specific skills like ones seen on TV. They set up obstacle courses, work on strength and conditioning, and teach Schleyer and other kids they train how to remain calm and focused during competitions.
Schleyer likes ninja competitions because they are not boring.

“There are more than just one or two obstacles, which is what I thought it would be. I like it more than I thought I would.”

He competed in 10 regular National Ninja League competitions this season, qualifying for a spot at the regionals at one of his first regular competitions when he placed in one of the top three spots.

“I encourage him every day to never give up and to always keep pushing himself,” said Rollo. “He’s been working so hard. In just one year of competing, he’s earned a place at worlds.”

At his training sessions, Schleyer concentrates on his upper body strength.
“You need a lot more strength in your upper body to be able to throw yourself from obstacle to obstacle,” he said.

His mother added that Schleyer trains daily on “anything and everything” he can climb and jump on.

“He makes everything his ninja course. We would love to create a ninja course in the backyard someday to help him achieve his dreams, but they’re so expensive.”

Now that Schleyer has achieved his dream of competing in worlds, his next goal is to compete on “American Ninja Warrior Junior.”

“I’d like to do that, but I don’t think I’m full ready yet,” he said. “Maybe next year.”

Schleyer does not need to win at worlds to get on the show - he just needs to apply and hope he is selected from thousands of other kids.

“The best way to be picked is to be a well-known or liked ninja,” said his mother.

To increase his chances of making it on the show one day, Schleyer has created a TikTok video that showcases many of his skills and courses.

Although Schleyer is not a television celebrity yet, he has received some fame at his school. Following the winter break, Abner Gibbs Elementary School Principal Kathleen O’Donnell announced had Schleyer qualified for worlds.

At a school Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) rewards event later this month for K-1 students, Adam will lead the school’s version of “American Ninja Warrior.”

“When we introduced the event at our school-wide community meeting, we told kids we would have an experienced ninja warrior to show them how to go through the course,” said O’Donnell. “Adam is our celebrated guest warrior.”

The school event will take place about a week before Schleyer competes in the 2022 NNL World Championship, April 1-3. A three-stage event, the nearly 1,500 competitors must complete all obstacles of each stage within the time limit to advance to the next stage. The athlete in each division that progresses the furthest the fastest will be crowned this season’s NNL world champion.

According the National Ninja League website, each stage focuses on a different aspect of ninja training.

Stage 1 tests an athlete’s speed, efficiency, control and technique in an incredibly tight time limit with no room for error. It includes a good blend of lower body, foot dexterity obstacles and upper body dynamic movements.

Stage 2 tests the athlete’s power, technique, grip and control in a tight time limit with little room for error. It has a mix of moving with obstacle elements, static and dynamic obstacles, and occasional foot dexterity movements.

Stage 3 tests the athlete’s endurance and grip to the max. It focuses on efficient rest and muscle recovery, with a mix of static obstacles, moving with obstacles elements, and climbing.

Rollo said competing at worlds is very expensive.

“It costs $180 to register, compared to $60 to $70 for a regular competition.

In addition, there’s airfare and hotel costs for four nights.” She said anyone interesting in sponsoring Schleyer to help defray those costs can contact her at 978-660-7053 or rollo9789@gmail.com.