We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Banola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all – Alfred Lord Tennyson What I really love about this quote I how Dr. Wayne Dyer re-interpreted it to say “tis better to have acted & fallen than to have never acted at all” This captures the meaning of what I believe is important in life for myself and what I try to teach to all my students. Fear of Failure is a big thing for too many people & that Fear, stops them from taking action on pursuing their dreams & goals. Whether it is the fear of looking, feeling, or sounding silly or foolish in school, work, personal life, or on the sports field… many people hesitate or change how they truly want to act and some (too many) don’t even act at all. We work on building up confidence in our students and squashing fear of failure by teaching them, that failure is just a judgement they place on themselves. Thomas Edison did not look at all the light bulb “failures” as such, he just viewed them as the learning process to figuring out the right way to do things. That is what we teach. Just because you cannot do something today, does not mean you cannot work on building the skills and strengths so that you can do it another day & maybe if you work at it enough, one day you may even be the best ever at it.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Warrior Playground specializes in obstacle training for elite athletes who compete in ninja warrior competition & longer distance Spartan/ obstacle course racing competition. our entire coaching staff has either competed on American Ninja Warrior or placed in the top 10 in the world (or both). We created a program we call the Warrior Performance training method to help our athletes become the best they can possibly be. The WPT method is the system we use to coach at the gym and it is also an online training platform we use to coach athletes who live in different parts of the world. We also work with many amateurs & kids who are just getting started & looking to have fun – this is the majority of our business. Personally, I love coaching the people in our program and I love doing this myself. Obstacle training is one of the most fun ways to exercise I have ever found. I have been an athlete for over 40 years and I still love competing at a high level. I have been a strength and conditioning coach for 25 years & during that time I have become an expert in designing programs that help my athletes become the best ever. One of my former athletes (Austin Gray), just took 2nd place on ANW this year. Many of the lesson I have learned are the same one I teach to my students & I absolutely love giving back to them in an effort to help them avoid some of the mistakes I have made along the way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ironically, that is happening this weekend & we are going to start of by bringing his kids to my gym to play around & have my staff give them a private training lesson, which is a great way to learn how to use all the different fun things we have to do at the gym. After that, we are going to go for a hike in Lyons @ Picture Rock trail. Then we will go find a place to eat & have a drink. Maybe Wibby Brewing will be on our list of places to stop.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Team Athletes Anabella Heinrichs & Anika Pivetta These 2 girls just turned 16 in August & have both place in the top 10 in the nation in ninja warrior competition & have competed on ANW Jr. For the 4th season of the Colorado Ninja League, I moved them both up from the teen division and into the Pro division. Anabella has placed 1st & 2nd in the first 2 meets & beat the reigning champ. Anika has placed 3rd and she is the only female in the entire division with the power to run up the Mega Warped Wall to a height of 17.5 feet – which is more than most male pros can do. The 2 of them are like the wonder twins, training together for the last 4 years. It has been a joy to watch them develop.

Website: https://www.warriorplayground.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warriorplayground/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warriorplayground
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMNXkPpsJAFu0m5iFBsuiQ

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