CHINO HILLS, Calif. — You may not have heard of it yet, at least not at the youth level, but 13-year-old Taryn Schilz has been training for the last three years to become a ninja warrior like no other.  While this seventh grader has participated in softball and soccer, ninja is her passion.  She trains at the Movement Lab in San Dimas, CA, where she proudly represents her team, the Lab Rats.

Taryn has very big goals.  This is not an easy sport.  She plans to continue competing regionally and nationally at ninja gyms and work her way up to the adult show (you have to be at least 15). From there, she says, “I want to be the first female to win American Ninja Warrior (ANW).”

During competition when one is solo on the course there is a heavy fear factor when all eyes are on you. When asked how she handles that stress, Taryn says, “I cope with this by mapping out the course prior to my run, telling my body what it has to do on each obstacle. It kind of calms me and prepares me for what’s to come for the competition.” She credits her dad, Brian Schilz, for giving her the advice to “commit to it.” If there’s a hard move and she is tired, she could just give up. But her dad’s advice reminds her why she’s doing what she’s doing, and it will only make her better.

Taryn loves how open everyone is in the ninja community. Everyone supports each other, and she says that she has made many out-of-state friends during competitions.  She also loves how it’s a sport of failure. “It’s you against the course and more people fail than get a full send (course completion with no fails).”

At her gym, she is the smallest person to make it up the 14’8” warped wall (the same height as the show), and it is one of Taryn’s greatest achievements especially since she was only 4’9” at the time. She also competed on American Ninja Warrior Jr. Taryn finished fifth out of 60 girls in the 13 and under division at a recent national competition. She also did a 16 1⁄2 foot warped wall at a ninja gym in Utah which was a great accomplishment for her.

Taryn enjoys reading, watching the Dodgers play baseball, baking sweets and hanging out with her friends.  She describes herself as resilient, witty and a go-getter. She usually listens to the same kind of music that plays at the gym: electro house music by artists Alan Walker, Marshmello and Avicii.

Ninja is an individual sport, but the team she practices and competes with has taught her how to support others while also being independent. “As we practice our runs on the course during practice, we encourage and push each other to try a new technique to complete the obstacle.”

Taryn practices the advice by her coach, Arnold Hernandez, to regain composure if she fails an obstacle before moving onto the next obstacle. “A mistake I’ve made while competing,” says Taryn, “is rushing on an obstacle causing me to fail. I was really disappointed, but then realized that I could still be fast but I must stay in control.”

Check Taryn out on American Ninja Warrior Jr, Season 3, currently streaming on the Peacock Network.  Good luck in your future competitions! 

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