“Coach Pat always tells us: it’s you against the course.”

Readers will be forgiven for thinking that “coach Pat” is a golf pro in town, providing valuable insight to any number of the competitive golfers who tackle the challenges that are the Timberwolf Golf Course and Idylwylde Golf & Country Club eighteen and various other tests of skill that permeate the Greater Sudbury landscape.

Rather, coach Pat is one Patrick Drolet, the young man who brought the Nickel City Ninjas to life – and his words are perhaps even more valuable to the likes of Zoe Howard (she of the opening quote) and her growing number of Ninja Warrior teammates.

Fresh off sending a squad of eight NCN representatives to nationals in Montreal, the group were back in the gym last week, setting the wheels in motion for another year where the bulk of the excitement that is built up lies in the anticipation the kids foster for each and every obstacle course they will encounter.

Be it a speed course (predicated more on manoeuvering through balance-oriented obstacles) or a strength course that focuses more so on upper body strength, each and every one is unique, each with their own appeal.

“I don’t want the course to be too easy; I want it to be a challenge,” said Howard, a 15 year old grade 10 student at Confederation Secondary who made her way to the Ninjas some three years ago, her previous passion for ringette having given way to the types of playground contraptions kids can only dream of.

“I’ve always liked monkey bars and stuff like that, hanging and swinging,” Howard added. “And I love going into a new gym and seeing all of the new obstacles.”

With a fourth place finish at Easterns in Hamilton (which qualified her for nationals) and the same placement a few weeks later against the best in her bracket in the country, Howard put into action the same pre-event preparation that has worked for her in the past.

“We have a walk through before the competition which is when I plan out everything that I am going to do,” said the eldest of three children in the family, with the involvement of her younger siblings serving as the catalyst for attracting Howard to this sport in the first place. “But I try not and to think about it too much or I will get in my head and not do as well.”

“I usually plan what I want to do and stop thinking about it.”

Jonathan Kelly definitely did not overthink his appearance at Easterns, having qualified quite late in the year – and as something of a surprise to himself.

“I did not have that good of a year before that (Easterns) and there were a lot of good kids there,” noted the 12 year-old Coniston resident who attends Notre Dame de la Merci, just a few kilometres away from the Caruso Street home of the Nickel City Ninjas.

“But it was a really good day.”

Yes indeed.

Now in his third year with the team, Kelly topped his entire category at Easterns and followed it up with a fifth place finish at nationals. “I was just really happy that I got to go to nationals and excited that I got to miss school,” said the youngster with a laugh.

“I didn’t know that it would go that well.”

That is absolutely a testament to the improvement he has shown over the course of his training with NCN. “I’m a lot stronger than I used to be and I can do a lot harder stuff now – but cliff-hangers are really hard,” he said. “And they tear up my fingers.”

There is an element of luck at play at Ninja Warrior competitions.

For as much as coach Pat can try and cover as many bases as possible as far of offering his troops every imaginable obstacle for training purposes, the truth is that the possibilities are almost endless. Inevitably, competitors will run face to face into an obstacle that is almost completely new to them.

“If you’ve never seen an obstacle before, you can try just watching the other athletes – or just go for it,” said Kelly. “In the walk through, you can’t touch the obstacles but we can imagine going through the course.”

In Montreal, his kryptonite was the “batarang” (take a moment to Google this and one can appreciate the challenge the young man was facing). “I had practiced it before but never really succeeded. It’s complicated.”

Just eight years old, perhaps Zachary Price is simply too young to be intimidated by the challenges of Ninja courses. His results would suggest he handled pretty much everything in stride.

“He crushed it this season, with this being his first real season in the sport,” said coach Pat.

A ninth place finish at Easterns followed by a fourth overall at nationals certainly sets the tone for what might still come. It doesn’t hurt that Price’s father, also a Ninja competitor at the amateur level, took time to build the youth a makeshift workout centre in his basement, acquiring a handful of new obstacles as the family took in the event in Montreal.

Mind you, Zachary had given his dad a reason to be rewarded.

“I finished the speed course (at nationals) in 33 seconds,” beamed the grade three student at Ecole publique Hélène Gravel. “I can go through speed courses really fast.”

Showing a great deal of growth on the flying bar, Price noted why this is a particular source of pride. “It’s way tougher to hold the bar, which is metal, than the rings, which are wooden,” he explained. “And on the back swing, you have to bend your knees up and kick out.”

Joining the talented troika at Ninja Nationals in representing the Nickel City crew were Delaney Andress, Camille Brisebois, Luka Montpellier, Veda Jones and Jack Harmon.