Little ninja 4th grader trains under American Ninja Warrior
She was an active toddler, a wall climber.
Now, she’s a ninja.
Ten-year-old Soumya Dohm, the daughter of Jeremy and Jessica Dohm of New Prague, is a member of Obstacle Academy’s Youth Ninja Team.
The ninja gym, which is located in Eden Prairie, is co-owned by two ninjas—Sarah Schoback of Hastings, who is known as one of the top females to ever compete on American Ninja Warrior, an NBC show featuring top athletes racing through challenging obstacle courses, and Hunter Guerard, who is better known as “The Lizard” on American Ninja Warrior.
Soumya enrolled in the program two years ago, after friends invited her to join them at a just-for-fun, one-day ninja training workshop.
“We didn’t really know what it entailed, other than the kids would get to try running an obstacle course and they’d get some of their energy out,” mom Jessica shared with a laugh. “I never expected this to be her thing… Turns out, she’s a natural.”
After watching Soumya complete the workshop’s obstacle course a few times, one of the gym’s trainers approached the Dohms and asked if Soumya would be interested in training for a spot on the gym’s team.
“We talked it over and asked Soumya if she was interested in trying it, which, of course, she was… And, here we are,” Jessica stated.
Last week, Soumya met with famed ninja trainer Guerard to work on her transition skills or “laches.” The one-on-one coaching session was set up after Soumya expressed an interest in improving her skills and time.
The Friday night lesson entailed the 4’8” St. Wenc fourth grader swinging from a bar and flinging herself eight feet through the air and grabbing hold of a suspended “grab board.”
“It’s all about overcoming your fear—fear of falling, fear of not succeeding, fear of getting hurt,” Guerard explained. “She can do it. She just has to believe it. She has to trust herself.”
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To see more on this story pick up the February 17, 2022 print edition of The New Prague Times.