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Four Naperville kids to appear on 'American Ninja Warrior Junior'

Jeremy Lauff didn't want any part of the other summer activities his parents came up with, so he tried a ninja class.

Emerson Hebel was bored one night after soccer season, so she asked her dad to turn the playground into a ninja course.

Now both are ninja pros - two of four kids from the Ultimate Ninjas gym in Naperville who are contestants on Season 2 of "American Ninja Warrior Junior," which premieres at 6 p.m. Saturday on Universal Kids.

Jeremy and Emerson, along with Neil Sekhri and Emme Smith, are awaiting the air dates of the episodes in which they'll show off the moves they've learned as members of the elite team at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville. Neil's comes right away Saturday, in the second season's first show - available now online at universalkids.com - but the others will have to wait several weeks.

The show challenges young participants in three age groups in head-to-head races to complete an obstacle course as quickly as possible. It's the same format as the grown-up version of "American Ninja Warriors," which itself is based on the Japanese hit show "Sasuke."

Jeremy Lauff, 9, is one of four contestants who train at Ultimate Ninjas in Naperville who will be featured on "American Ninja Warrior Junior" beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday on Universal Kids. Courtesy of Lori Lauff

Jeremy and Neil compete in the 9- and 10-year-old group, while Emerson and Emme fall into the 11- and 12-year-old group. The oldest competitors in the kids' version of the show are 13 or 14.

The competitors from Naperville are among 140 kids from across the country who will be featured in the show trying to surpass obstacles with quirky names such as "Crazy Cliffhanger," "Flying Squirrel," "WingNuts" and "the Little Dipper."

Being a ninja is pretty great, these kids say. They describe it as a freeing, highflying, creative and fun sport with just as many successes as stumbles.

"In any other sport, yeah, you can get better, but you kind of have to follow the rules," said Emerson, an 11-year-old who attends Jefferson Junior High in Naperville. "There's only one way to play."

Naperville contestants, from top to bottom, Emme Smith, Neil Sekhri, Emerson Hebel and Jeremy Lauff are set to be part of "American Ninja Warrior Junior," whose second season begins airing at 6 p.m. Saturday on Universal Kids. Courtesy of Matt Hebel

But in ninja competitions, she said, there are "endless possibilities."

"You get to change it however you want. You get to make it your own. It's OK if you can't do something because there's always things you can do that somebody else can't," she said. "You keep getting better, no matter how many times you try. You always can get better."

Both Emerson and Jeremy get better at ninja moves by practicing not only at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville, where the general manager is "American Ninja Warrior" star Jesse "Flex" LaBreck, but also in their own homes.

Emerson has a great-uncle who is an architect. He helped her father create a grid on the ceiling from which to hang trapezes, ropes, nunchucks and bookends.

"Now we have a full ninja gym in our front room of our house," Matt Hebel said.

Jeremy's parents' basement flooded last summer, shortly before a trip to Los Angeles for five days of filming "American Ninja Warrior Junior." His mother, Lori Lauff, said the "silver lining" of the destruction was a chance to renovate and give Jeremy a ninja zone.

  Naperville's Emerson Hebel, 11, works out using baseballs and other objects to grab in her ninja gym, which her father built in the family's living room so she can improve her ninja competition skills. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

The basement now has 22 feet of monkey bars with peg boards and climbing holds for purposes of swinging and jumping. There is a ring toss obstacle and cliffhangers and - for safety - mats on the floor.

Although he tried his first ninja class somewhat reluctantly, Lauff said, Jeremy quickly got hooked and applied his knack for memorizing numbers and statistics to last season's "Ninja Warrior" shows.

"He was very determined to try to earn a spot," Lauff said.

Naperville's ninjas also have been determined not to spill the beans about what happens on the shows since they were filmed.

After one-on-one matchups and four wild-card races for each age bracket, one winner from each group will be crowned champion.

"It's hard to keep the secret. This is a big thing! I just competed on a TV show," Emerson said. "I'm really excited to see how they air it."

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