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28 | October 18, 2018 | The wilmette beacon LIFE & ARTS<br />
wilmettebeacon.com<br />
WILMETTE<br />
The Rock House<br />
(1150 Central Ave. (847)<br />
256-7625)<br />
■6:30 ■ p.m., Friday, Oct.<br />
19: Family Night and<br />
Karaoke<br />
■9:30 ■ a.m., Saturday,<br />
Oct. 20: Jazz Quartet<br />
■7 ■ p.m., Saturday, Oct.<br />
20: Acoustic Fight Club<br />
Wilmette Park District<br />
Community Recreation<br />
Center<br />
(3000 Glenview Road,<br />
(847) 256-9686)<br />
■4 ■ p.m., Saturday, Oct.<br />
20: Halloween Happening<br />
2018<br />
Centennial Ice Rinks<br />
(2300 Old Glenview<br />
Road, (847) 256-9666)<br />
■1 ■ p.m., Saturday, Oct.<br />
27: Spooky Skate 2018<br />
NORTHBROOK<br />
Pinstripes<br />
(1150 Willow Road,<br />
(847) 480-2323)<br />
■From ■ open until close<br />
all week: bowling and<br />
bocce<br />
Northbrook Theatre<br />
(3323 Walters Ave. (847)<br />
291-2367)<br />
■Multiple ■ showtimes<br />
from Oct. 6- Nov.<br />
10: performances of<br />
“Curious George: “The<br />
Golden Meatball”<br />
To place an event in The<br />
Scene, email martin@northbrooktower.com<br />
New Trier student competes on ‘American Ninja Warrior Junior’<br />
Libby Elliott<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
Local fans of the hugely<br />
popular, five-time Emmy<br />
nominated “American<br />
Ninja Warrior” reality<br />
TV series were thrilled to<br />
know that on Saturday,<br />
Oct. 13, Universal Kids<br />
premiered its spinoff,<br />
“American Ninja Warrior<br />
Junior,” featuring nearly<br />
200 boy and girl Ninjas<br />
aged 9-14 from across the<br />
United States.<br />
They’ll be even more<br />
excited to know that one<br />
of the North Shore’s own<br />
was among the debut<br />
show’s featured competitors:<br />
14-year-old New<br />
Trier freshman, Courtney<br />
Schumacher.<br />
A four-sport athlete and<br />
triple-A hockey player,<br />
Schumacher, of Winnetka,<br />
was among thousands of<br />
applicants selected to faceoff<br />
on the same iconic obstacle<br />
course used in the<br />
original series, competing<br />
in the 13- and 14-year-old<br />
aged bracket along with 63<br />
other elite athletes.<br />
Schumacher traveled<br />
to Los Angeles with her<br />
family for a week last<br />
July to tape the series’ first<br />
episode, but kept the news<br />
under wraps for legal reasons.<br />
Even after finding out<br />
last June that her audition<br />
tape was selected<br />
from thousands submitted,<br />
Schumacher had to stay<br />
mum, divulging the secret<br />
to just a few members of<br />
her immediate family, including<br />
her brother, Teddy,<br />
12, and sister, Maggie, 7.<br />
“I was so excited. I wanted<br />
to tell everyone,” said<br />
Schumacher, who began<br />
playing competitive golf,<br />
basketball, baseball and<br />
hockey as a first-grader.<br />
Although Schumacher<br />
said the experience was<br />
“incredible,” she still can’t<br />
divulge specific details<br />
of the competition until<br />
“American Ninja Warrior<br />
Junior” officially airs to<br />
audiences on Oct. 13.<br />
Schumacher said she<br />
started watching “American<br />
Ninja Warrior” as<br />
a fifth-grader at Skokie<br />
School, and was immediately<br />
hooked on the<br />
show’s fast-paced, competitive<br />
action. The young<br />
athlete was already pushing<br />
boundaries as one of<br />
the only girls on her local<br />
travel baseball team.<br />
“Courtney has never<br />
been afraid of the ‘boysonly’<br />
thing,” said her mom,<br />
Allison Schumacher.<br />
Just 10 years old at the<br />
time, Schumacher vowed<br />
to audition for the show<br />
when she turned 21, the<br />
show’s minimum age of<br />
eligibility. When that age<br />
restriction dropped to 19<br />
at the beginning of 2018,<br />
Schumacher felt hopeful.<br />
“I thought, ‘Great!”<br />
Schumacher said. “Only<br />
five more years to go.”<br />
Schumacher’s parents<br />
constructed an obstacle<br />
course in their backyard,<br />
and began driving her —<br />
in between hockey practices<br />
— to training sessons<br />
at nearby “Ninja”-certified<br />
gyms.<br />
“In addition to being a<br />
gifted athlete, Courtney<br />
is highly self-motivated,”<br />
Allison said. “She’ll go<br />
outside and shoot 100<br />
hockey pucks or go into<br />
her room and knock out 15<br />
pull-ups.”<br />
Schumacher dedicated<br />
her “American Ninja<br />
Warrior Junior” competition<br />
to her little brother,<br />
Teddy, who developed a<br />
brain tumor four years ago<br />
at age 8. After the tumor<br />
was successfully removed,<br />
Teddy developed epilepsy<br />
and could no longer play<br />
competitive sports.<br />
New Trier student Courtney Schumacher (left), 14, competed on “American Ninja<br />
Warrior Junior.” The episode aired Saturday, Oct. 13. She poses here with Meagan<br />
Martin, one of the show’s All Star Ninja mentors. Photo Submitted<br />
Last year, with the help<br />
of Schumacher’s hockey<br />
team, Teddy raised thousands<br />
of dollars for the<br />
St. Baldrick’s Foundation,<br />
an organization that funds<br />
childhood cancer research.<br />
“Teddy is Courtney’s<br />
hero,” Allison said.<br />
In between tapings on<br />
the Universal Kids set in<br />
Los Angeles, the Schumachers<br />
made sure to visit<br />
Venice’s famous Muscle<br />
Beach, where Schumacher<br />
exercised alongside local<br />
body builders.<br />
“Being a good Ninja<br />
is all about upper body<br />
strength,” Schumacher<br />
said. “It also helps to<br />
watch the show on a regular<br />
basis, so you know<br />
what’s coming.”<br />
Last August, Schumacher<br />
took first place in the<br />
Teen Female Division of<br />
a National Ninja League<br />
competition in Hartland,<br />
Wisc., a title that now<br />
qualifies her for the 2019<br />
World Championship set<br />
to take place this February<br />
in Hartford, Conn.<br />
Schumacher reports that<br />
she’s still in touch with<br />
the 63 kids she met on set<br />
last summer, and that most<br />
work out with professional<br />
“Ninja” trainers where<br />
they live.<br />
“For many kids, Ninja<br />
is their sole sport,” Allison<br />
said.<br />
The Schumachers hosted<br />
a small “American Ninja<br />
Warrior Junior” viewing<br />
party for close friends and<br />
family at their home on<br />
Oct. 13, when the results<br />
of Courtney’s appearance<br />
on the show were finally<br />
revealed.<br />
That is, until next time.<br />
“I’ll hope to be on the<br />
show again when I turn<br />
19,” Schumacher said.