On June 27, Isaiah Thomas, Lakeview Centennial High School senior, ran the course that qualified him for the semifinal round of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior. Isaiah, 17, became interested in the ninja competitions when he began going to the gym with his cousin. He was 13 years old at the time. Once he began participating in competitions, his time at the gym went up to seven – nine hours per day after school and on weekends. He continued this intense training for a year.
“My determination just took over, and I just started training and got better.”
He added that losing his first competition only made him more determined.
“When I came in last, it really struck something in me,” he said. “When I start something, I like to finish it.”
Isaiah believes that whether a person will succeed in anything is all about their level of determination and how much they love what it is they’re doing.
Photo by Elizabeth Morris/NBC
He’s lucky to have parents that support his interests. His mom takes him to the gym every day. After his first year of training, he heard about another gym that would be better for him. His mom then began driving him 45 minutes to that gym every day.
“She has really made a big impact on where I am today,” Isaiah said.
To compete on American Ninja Warrior, applicants submit a three-minute tryout video. Isaiah said that you must be your best self, be interesting and show your best qualities. He did exactly that and it worked for him. He started on ANW Junior in season 2. A couple of years later, he was invited to be on season 13 of ANW.
“That’s when I absolutely killed it,” he said.
We know that he’s made it to the semifinals for season 14, but he’s not allowed to reveal more than that.
He just encourages everyone to tune in every Monday on NBC 5.
Isaiah had some good advice to share with younger kids.
“I played sports my whole life and I didn’t find the one I truly loved until I was 13. When I was younger, I played football, basketball, soccer, baseball and ran track,” he said. “I liked football and basketball best and stuck to those. But when I went out and found something for myself is when I truly got interested. It’s not because my friends were doing it or my parents wanted me to. It’s because I wanted to do it.”
He added that if you want to do something, either put in 100% effort or don’t do it. And you’ll know when you love something because you’ll be doing it for yourself, not because someone else is telling you to do it.
In addition to competitions, Isaiah trains other athletes in the sport and builds practice courses for people.
This sport is gaining popularity, and more and more kids are embracing it. A top prize of $1 million will go to the winner that can conquer all four stages at the National Finals in Las Vegas. To get there, competitors must make it through the qualifying rounds and semifinals.