KSPORTS New England, a television sports show for teens and by teens, has been nominated for the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy award in the category of sports series. The series, which aired from April through June of 2011 on the New England Sports Program was put together, written and produced by a crew made up entirely of kids under the age of 19.

The show was an idea of a long-time sportscaster Jimmy Young, himself an Emmy winner, and one of the people behind the Young Broadcasters of America who partnered with Mike Winn from Winn Media Group to create a sports television show utilizing the YBA’s proprietary course curriculum.

Young said, “In just six months, we held public auditions, marketing to teens in the region, identified and trained two hosts in our own studio, and produced an Emmy caliber program for NESN. This really does validate our methodology and ability to create quality programs with talent under the age of 19!”

Shot on location at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA, the home of the Brockton Rox, teen hosts Cam Rogers from New Hampshire and Alexis Paige from Boston introduced a series of features totally produced by a production team under the age of 19.

Young considers KSPORTS to be a natural development for the company that offers courses in broadcasting and television both in their studio and online. Their goal is to improve face-to-face communication skills of students who, with the advent of universally-available technology, might no longer have experience with forms of communication that don’t involve a keyboard and a computer screen. The program also aims to improve self-esteem, confidence, and uses the camera as both a motivational tool and a feedback system in order to help youngsters evaluate their own performance, understand how they are perceived by others, and make improvements in their inter-personal skills.

Crew and Production Team included: Alex Barth- Sharon HS; Alex Reimer- Natick, MA; Max Bloch- Westborough HS; Ashley Lynch-Field producer; Dan Weinberg- editor; Zach Washington- Graphics & Editing. Instructors included Young and former ESPN anchor Eric Clemons.

Young explained that the nomination means a lot both to the people of YBA and the students involved with the show’s production. The KSPORTS team will find out of they have what it takes to land that Emmy on June 2nd, 2012 when the awards are presented in Boston.