Trumbull 'American Ninja Warrior Jr.' To Make TV Debut

TRUMBULL, CT — Like many kids Trumbull resident Jake Scionti, 11, became fascinated with American Ninja Warrior show on TV. His first piece of training equipment was a simple chin-up bar. Birthdays and holidays for Jake and his sister Sophia brought new pieces of equipment, much of it custom-made over the course of years.

“It was a couple years ago with a bar and it turned into a whole giant mess of stuff,” Jake said.”We can’t even fit everything at once.”

Piece-by-piece the family basement turned into a full-fledged Ninja Warrior training ground. Now Jake will appear on American Ninja Warrior Junior where he competed with some of the best young ninja warriors in the U.S.

The episode filmed in July and is scheduled to air April 3 at 6 p.m. Jake can’t say how he did so we’ll have to watch to find out.

“Not being able to tell anyone has been difficult, but I’ve got it,” he said.

The episode filmed in Los Angeles and it was Jake’s first time flying out to California. He said he enjoyed seeing the city and making new friends at the competition. He also got to meet longtime American Ninja Warrior host Matt Iseman.

American Ninja Warrior is based off the popular Japanese show Sasuke which has aired for 36 seasons. The show has competitors go through a wide variety of obstacles that test coordination, strength and agility.

Jake's favorite part of the sport is being able to push himself and other people to overcome obstacles, he said. His favorite type of obstacle to overcome are quick upper-body ones like a cliffhanger. Among his least favorite are long balancing courses with lots of moving parts. He is currently homeschooled previously was a student at Madison Middle School.

Jake’s training regimen eventually spread to Real Life Ninja Academy in Hamden which is headed by Ninja Warrior champion Drew Drechsel. A few other of Jake’s teammates competed on the first season of American Ninja Warrior Junior.

“That year he had just started and didn’t feel like he was ready, after the national ninja league world championships which he won for his age group he had more confidence,” said Jake’s stepfather Michael Littleton.

Jake’s mom Shael Littleton said that ninja warrior is different from other sports because it involves a high degree of failure especially when trying something new.

“There is a whole lot of failing in this sport,” she said. "There is a lot of trying over and over again and falling over and over again, it’s especially hard for kids to deal with it.”

That failure has helped teach Jake the lesson of persistence and has boosted his self-confidence, she said.

“I think it’s taught him that failing and getting up and moving on and trying again is really a sign of strength,” Littleton said.

The sport is also constantly adding new challenges and obstacles; the day of a competition may be the first day a competitor has to deal with a particular obstacle, she said.

American Ninja Warrior airs on Universal Kids