605 Ninja coaches to compete on popular NBC show 'American Ninja Warrior' this season

Last year, season 15 of "American Ninja Warrior" premiered with over 3 million viewers for the weekly reality television series. For this current season, according to NBC, over 4,000 of those viewers applied to be the ninja on the screen instead of the viewer in the living room. Two are right here in Sioux Falls.

Drew Nester was 12 years old when he first saw NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior" and started practicing ninja on his own.

In a backyard in Iowa, he was the neighbor kid tying ropes onto trees to catapult from and perfecting cliffhangers underneath his deck. Then he trained with cannonballs and nun-chucks while stationed in Qatar as a combat medic for the U.S. Army. Now on Monday, you can watch it all payoff for him in the semi-finals of “American Ninja Warrior.”

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” said Nester, now 23 and coaching at 605 Ninja in Sioux Falls. “I tell my mom when I’m 13 years old that we need to build a ninja warrior course at our house because I was going to be on this show. But I was already doing parkour and free running at that age. I knew I was going to do this.”

“American Ninja Warrior” began in 2009 as a competition in which athletes attempt four courses to win a $1 million prize. The sport has evolved tremendously over time, with competitions worldwide and the International Olympic Committee announcing last year that an obstacle course event will be included in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

For now, Nester has local competition. Lincoln High School senior Josh Miller is also competing on season 16 of the show, and both athletes may be seen on upcoming episodes.

“My story is a bit simpler,” said Miller, who grew up in Sioux Falls with equally supportive parents and a similar course in his backyard. He, too, coaches at 605 Ninja today. “It goes back to fifth grade, when friends were swinging on the monkey bars at school and looking cool. I just wanted to keep up with them.”

He ran cross country and track in high school and tried football and soccer but says no other sport compares to ninja.

“Not even close,” he said. “Ninja is my safe place.”

What is ninja?

Safe is an ironic word.

Ninja training involves ropes, rings, laché bars, parkour, free climbing, leaps and this thing called a salmon ladder, an obstacle in which two vertical posts hold a series of rungs and a horizontal bar. The goal is to leap toward the top rung and back down again. You’d first need to knock out a few dozen pullups to even attempt the ladder.

And parkour can also be reckless – an acrobatic discipline in which athletes try to get from point A to B in the fastest way possible, like a villain being chased in the city. Miller said even the athlete himself finds it all impressive.

“With the show, I’m kind of surprised I did as well as I could, actually,” Miller said, who got accepted onto the show the first time he applied. “But I was just happy to run the course.”

To compete in ninja involves upper body strength, speed, technique, focus, stamina, and, above all, the courage to believe it can be done.

“I always wanted to compete in a sport,” said Nester, who also competed on season 14 of the show. "But I was always the smallest kid. When I got into high school, I wasn’t even five feet tall yet. But then I would watch ‘Ninja Warrior’ and all the athletes were maybe 5-foot-7, 140 pounds. Then when I started going to the gym, I saw I was good at it, too, and it was also a ton of fun.”

More: Learn about the reality show. 'American Ninja Warrior' airs 7 p.m. CST Mondays on NBC.

As for 18-year-old Miller, his demeanor could fool you. He is quiet, reserved, kind and has few words. But then he flies along the courses at such a superhero pace, you might wonder how much beast is inside the boy.

“Josh leads by example by being humble, while Drew leads by example in his confidence," said fellow 605 coach Boston VanDonselaar. "He shows kids and adults that it’s OK to be nervous but to go out on the course and use that for a confident mindset.”

You see brawn on the show, but ninja is a mental game, and that’s where Nester’s determination and Miller’s humility triumphs. It empowers many.

“The thing that sold us was how great the coaches are with kids,” said Catherine Newman, a mother whose 8-year-old son, Henry, attends classes at 605 Ninja. “They are so encouraging and know how to build kids up at their age levels. It’s phenomenal.”

Overcoming fear to have fun

605 Ninja owner Jason Steinberg admits his business is less gymnasium and power and more sanctuary and support.

“What has helped us here is the culture we’ve built,” he said. “We have a strong belief that the people who work for us are going to be influential role models for the kids.”

Steinberg, a former personal trainer, and his wife, Lacy, a former cheerleading coach, opened the gym in 2018, one of the first and only ninja training facilities in the state. There are classes and summer camps and open gyms for all ages – it’s a riot for families – but the facility is also an environment for ninja warriors like Nester, Miller and Henry to test themselves.

“Ninja is 90% failure and 10% success,” said Steinberg, who also competed on the show on season nine. “So we focus on building good character, confidence, problem-solving techniques and respect.

“They’re becoming stronger, healthier and happier kids," he said.

Nester calls Steinberg a mentor and a good friend. Miller says even before he became a student or a coach at 605 Ninja, he looked up to Steinberg in a way that felt intimidating to be around him. But Steinberg has that presence about him.

“Jason has taught me everything I know,” said Miller, who still trains today with both Steinberg and Nester – and many of the other 605 coaches who plan to try out for season 17. “He’s definitely a really big role model for us.”

Encouraging environment for young athletes

At 605 Ninja, no one talks about being afraid of such a dangerous sport. It’s just hard work, loud music, moments of thrill and a mission statement on the wall that reads, “Changing Lives One Obstacle at a Time.”

“There are kids here who are going to be better than the both of us in a few years,” Nester said. “And I think a lot of that is because they’ve got guys like us who’ve already done it. We can give them the tools we found and the advice they need to make it.”

“It feels good to give back to the next generation,” Miller added.

“You did it, bro! Let’s go, dude!” Nester shouts as a student makes it across the course without ever dropping his grip. “Hey, I made it!” responds the sweaty kid with his shoes untied and surprise on his face.

Maybe he will be on TV someday, too.

As is true in any sport, if you do not believe you can make it from point A to point B, you won’t. But South Dakota’s ninjas never even consider whether they can’t.

They patiently practice until they will.

“American Ninja Warrior” airs 8 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. CST Mondays on NBC. Follow Drew Nester on social media @ninja_drew182 and Josh Miller @josh.j.miller. 605 Ninja is open daily at 2101 W. 41st St., suite 41 in Sioux Falls.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 605 Ninja coaches to compete on popular NBC show 'American Ninja Warrior' this season