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4 | October 18, 2018 | The glencoe anchor news
glencoeanchor.com
New Trier student competes on ‘American Ninja Warrior Junior’
Libby Elliott
Freelance Reporter
Local fans of the hugely
popular, five-time Emmy
nominated “American
Ninja Warrior” reality
TV series were thrilled to
know that on Saturday,
Oct. 13, Universal Kids
premiered its spinoff,
“American Ninja Warrior
Junior,” featuring nearly
200 boy and girl Ninjas
aged 9-14 from across the
United States.
They’ll be even more
excited to know that one
of the North Shore’s own
was among the debut
show’s featured competitors:
14-year-old New
Trier freshman, Courtney
Schumacher.
A four-sport athlete and
triple-A hockey player,
14-year-old Schumacher
was among thousands of
applicants selected to faceoff
on the same iconic obstacle
course used in the
original series, competing
in the 13- and 14-year-old
aged bracket along with 63
other elite athletes.
Schumacher traveled
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to Los Angeles with her
family for a week last
July to tape the series’ first
episode, but kept the news
under wraps for legal reasons.
Even after finding out
last June that her audition
tape was selected
from thousands submitted,
Schumacher had to stay
mum, divulging the secret
to just a few members of
her immediate family, including
her brother, Teddy,
12, and sister, Maggie, 7.
“I was so excited. I
wanted to tell everyone,”
said Schumacher, who began
playing competitive
golf, basketball, baseball
and hockey as a first-grader.
Although Schumacher
said the experience was
“incredible,” she couldn’t
divulge specific details
of the competition until
“American Ninja Warrior
Junior” officially aired to
audiences on Oct. 13.
Schumacher said she
started watching “American
Ninja Warrior” as
a fifth-grader at Skokie
School, and was immediately
hooked on the
show’s fast-paced, competitive
action. The young
athlete was already pushing
boundaries as one of
the only girls on her local
travel baseball team.
“Courtney has never
been afraid of the ‘boysonly’
thing,” said her mom,
Allison Schumacher.
Just 10 years old at the
time, Schumacher vowed
to audition for the show
when she turned 21, the
show’s minimum age of
eligibility. When that age
restriction dropped to 19
at the beginning of 2018,
Schumacher felt hopeful.
“I thought, ‘Great!”
Schumacher said. “Only
Winnetka resident Courtney Schumacher (left), 14,
competed on “American Ninja Warrior Junior.” The
episode aired Saturday, Oct. 13. She poses here
with Meagan Martin, one of the show’s All Star Ninja
mentors. Photo Submitted
five more years to go.”
Schumacher’s parents
constructed an obstacle
course in their backyard,
and began driving her —
in between hockey practices
— to training sessions
at nearby “Ninja”-certified
gyms.
“In addition to being a
gifted athlete, Courtney
is highly self-motivated,”
Allison said. “She’ll go
outside and shoot 100
hockey pucks or go into
her room and knock out 15
pull-ups.”
Schumacher dedicated
her “American Ninja
Warrior Junior” competition
to her little brother,
Teddy, who developed a
brain tumor four years ago
at age 8. After the tumor
was successfully removed,
Please see ninja, 6