Springfield 5th Grader To Appear On American Ninja Warrior Junior

SPRINGFIELD, NJ — Springfield's fifth grader Kaela Gerson will be competing on American Ninja Warrior Junior at 6 p.m. Friday night on Universal Kids.

Gerson, a fifth grader at Sandmeier Elementary School, lives in Springfield with her parents Dave and Maya, and siblings Liv and Reis.

Growing up Gerson would watch the adult version of the show with her family and had fallen in love with the sport. She had been bummed she missed applying for the first season so when the newest season began casting she applied and was selected.

To prepare she trained at her Ninja gym, Centercourt in Chatham. She also had some personal sessions from her coach Brandon Singletary, who recently competed on the adult show.

"It was her first Ninja competition, so she was nervous, especially given the setting. She was also intimidated by the first obstacle on the course, since she had never completed it in practice," Kaela's father Dave said. "When it came time to compete though, she was fearless, did the best she could and had a blast!"

He favorite part about being on the show was meeting her favorite Ninja stars (Barclay, Jessie, Meghan, and others) and making new friends from around the country.

"It was such a great experience and I was incredibly proud of her and blown away by how she handled herself before, during and since the trip to LA," Dave Gerson said. "I am glad she gets to show kids that they can do anything if they work hard and enjoy it!"

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