Madison Student To Compete On 'American Ninja Warrior'

MADISON, NJ - The Warped Wall, the Spin Cycle and a bevy of other physical challenges were part of the gauntlet that awaited 10-year-old Kings Road School student Will Arnstein as part of the inaugural American Ninja Warrior Junior competition.

The competition reality show is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13 on the cable station Universal Kids.

According to Arnstein he started watching the show with his parents when he was about five-years-old. Soon after, a transformation took place.

"I started turning my house and playground at school into my own obstacle course," Arnstein said. "I decided to redecorate the house with my footprints on the walls."

This home training routine lasted for a few years and then Arnstein made the decision to take it up a notch.

"Last year, I started going to Centercourt Ninja in Chatham and training with Coach Brayden Provan, who runs the Ninja program there. It was awesome. So much fun. I made a bunch of new friends and we all push each other to do better," Arnstein said. "When we learned about American Ninja Warrior Junior, I started working harder, because I knew this was going to be huge and a ton of kids were going to apply. The competition was going to be fierce."

Despite the fierceness of the competition, Arnstein was accepted as a contestant. According to the press release from Universal Kids, almost 200 Junior Ninjas from across the United States faced off on a six-obstacle course. Although Arnstein and his family flew to California and show the show back in July, he is not allowed to discuss the specifics or the results.

He did share with Patch what he found most surprising about the experience.

"My biggest surprise was that this was real, and actually happening," Arnstein said.

Arnstein said the biggest difference between the Junior and adult version of the show is simply the scale.

"The kids version is a scaled down version of the adult version," Arnstein said. "We had iconic obstacles like the Tic Toc, Spin Cycle, and Warped Wall."

When he is not flying across the country to compete on television Arnstein said he spends his spare time coding and animating on his computer, snowboarding, playing with his dog Rèmy, riding his bike, and being a Cub Scout. He also said there is no doubt in his mind he would do it again.

"Right now, I’m competing in National Ninja League competitions and training at Centercourt Ninja Chatham with my travel team and coaches Joe Cappo, Brayden Provan, and Anthony DeFranco," Arnstein said. "I’ve qualified for the NNL World Championship in February, which which is in Hartford, CT."

Beyond that, Arnstein said he is anxious to watch himself on television.

"I’m also super excited to watch the season premiere of American Ninja Warrior Junior," Arnstein said.

(Photos courtesy of the Arnstein family.)

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