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Meet Luke ‘The Flying Fratt’ Frattaroli, New Canaan’s ‘Ninja Warrior’

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It’s not every day you see a New Canaan kid place fifth in a world championship, and even rarer when the contest in question is the Invitational World Finals for the World Ninja League. Yet that’s the case for Luke “The Flying Fratt” Frattaroli, a 14-year-old athlete who has dedicated the last four years of his life to a sport few have heard of. Based on the highly popular “American Ninja Warrior” TV show, Ninja is a form of obstacle course racing which sees athletes compete for the best time as they tackle a series of increasingly difficult obstacles, ranging from a series of steps which the athlete must jump across, to the infamous “bar hop.”
“We couldn’t find a sport that I really liked, that I really wanted to make a big commitment to,” Frattaroli, a Saxe Middle School eighth-grader, told the New Canaanite. “I never knew you could actually do it as a sport until a couple years ago when I found out this gym in Stamford had open classes, so I tried one out and I really liked it.”
Stamford Ninja Academy, Frattaroli’s main gym, is one of an increasing number of “ninja gyms” which provide practice courses and coaching to those interested in the emerging sport. Several coaches at SNA have also competed on “American Ninja Warrior.”

“You don’t really know it’s real,” Frattaroli said.