JOPLIN, Mo. (Map, News) - Tim Pendergraft has loved baseball since he played the sport in elementary school.

Next school year, as a senior at Joplin High School, he will be close to the sport again: He will get to announce some games for broadcast on JET-14, the school's cable TV station.

"It has always been a dream of mine to participate in sports broadcasting," Pendergraft said. "I love baseball so much, and I'd love to continue a career as an announcer."

Basketball is John Butler's favorite sport. He used to play the game but backed off to concentrate on his career.

"I know I won't play basketball all my life," Butler said. "I plan on continuing a career in video and audio production."

The students are two of about 20 who plan to take a new course in sports broadcasting next year.

Students in the class will cover Joplin's athletic events for broadcast on JET-14. They will learn how to announce a game, operate cameras, edit footage and present coverage.

"With a school of this size, there is a large fan base," teacher Bruce VonderHaar said. "Now they can watch no matter what the sport, and the kids will get valuable training."

The course was approved by the R-8 Board of Education during its April 14 meeting. The board agreed to $10,000 worth of preparations to Junge Field to accommodate camera platforms and wiring.

Joplin's broadcasting class already has the rest of the equipment necessary, including cameras and control-room equipment. The school offers six classes in broadcasting that give students the opportunity to work in a modern studio with industry equipment.

VonderHaar said expanding into sports is a natural extension of the broadcasting curriculum. Students produce music videos, talk shows, newscasts, documentaries and entertainment features, which are broadcast on the TV station.

Danny Craven, station manager, said: "We can show tape-delayed events, have talk shows with coaches and players. One game or event can lead to several other shows." Butler said he is looking forward to learning how to announce a game.

"It will be challenging to keep going through a whole game, staying on topic and not veering off," he said.

Different sports get different treatments, VonderHaar said. Golf will not be filmed the same way as baseball. Football and boys and girls basketball will get the most coverage because of their popularity.

"Being able to attend all the games, that will be the biggest challenge," Pendergraft said. "And learning how to present them where people like to listen to you."

The only thing students won't learn is live broadcasting. Craven said rules of the Missouri State High School Activities Association prohibit some live broadcasting.

But the class will help students prepare for an expanding career field, VonderHaar said. He is the former sports director for KODE-TV.

"If you look at cable, there is so much sports broadcasting," he said. "ESPN broadcasts 65 sports in one year, and Fox has regional stations all over the country. The job opportunities are enormous."

That works for both Butler and Pendergraft. Butler said he wants to continue working with audio and video production, and Pendergraft has dreams of calling baseball games.

Because they are students, they will naturally be Joplin fans, which might affect whether they can fairly call a game. But the situation won't be any different from professional networks that revolve around a single team, Pendergraft said.

"We won't use personal attacks on the other team, and we won't be overly good toward Joplin," Pendergraft said. "That could get old quick. We have to have some respect for the players on both teams."