Unique Local Program to Develop Sports Journalism Talent

Joey Draper is having the time of his young life, chasing his dream of making it big as a professional sports announcer, which began when he was interviewed by ESPN at age 10 outside of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley.

That day, says the now 21-year-old Emmaus resident and Penn State junior majoring in sports journalism, he was bitten by the play-by-play reporter bug and has chased it at full speed ever since.

“That interview started everything.”

Draper soon was narrating play-by-plays of sports video games at home, thrilling family and friends with his informed, witty banter and gaining loads of confidence, which fed his dream.

And he owes his growing passion and refining skills, in a large way, to the Sports Reporter internship program started by Al Di Carlo and Dave Mika at D11Sports.com, which has been funded generously by St. Luke’s Sports Medicine Department since 2019.

“The D11Sports.com partnership has provided students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field of sports journalism and/or broadcasting,” said John Hauth, Sr. Network Administrator for Sports Medicine Relationships at St. Luke’s.

“St. Luke’s is proud of the work these young men and women have done while working under the tutelage of Al Di Carlo and Dave Mika. This is just one more example of how St. Luke’s supports the communities they serve and our valued school partners.”

Added Di Carlo, “St. Luke’s is a great partner,” said Di Carlo. “They make our student reporters feel like the real deal. They get them media passes to games and logoed clothes to wear when they’re working the games. We couldn’t do this without St. Luke’s.”

To catch the Student Reporters in action, visit D11Sports.com and check out their Author pages, or watch them in action through all of their social media platforms by searching D11Sports. 

Draper has honed his sports broadcasting skills at high school and college athletic contests around Pennsylvania hoping to score a someday job on TV with a national sports network, like ESPN.

He estimates he’s announced at 300 games, across D11 and Penn State Lehigh Valley while a freshman and sophomore there: football, basketball, soccer being his favorites (he’s a former high school soccer player and now coaches the sport).

“Joey’s a natural,” says Di Carlo, director of the program and mentor to Draper, who started on D11Sports.com as a freshman at Emmaus High School. “He has talent that will take him places.”

He speaks from experience. Di Carlo, a broadcast sports veteran for 25 years, founded the Sports Reporter internship program with Mika five years ago to pass on this good fortune, skills and experience.

“I wanted to give back, to help the kids. They have talent and want to use it.” Since 2019, he says, 85 kids have interned at D11Sports.com, focusing on both writing about and announcing sports throughout District XI schools.

He rattled off a few of the impressive places they’ve gone to intern, as they move closer to a job in the business: Penn State, University of Mississippi, Hofstra, Syracuse, and professionally with the New York Jets.

Each intern brings their own special skills, interests and drive to the job.

Reporting from the sideline of a football game recently at North Schuylkill High School, Anna Howland, a 17-year-old senior at Lehighton Area High School, peppered the coach and his quarterback with questions after the game. She came prepared: quoting the team’s stats and citing strategies and plays. She applied for the D11Sports.com internship after encouragement from her school’s athletic director.

“I like making connections with the coaches and players, especially at away games, and learning about their teams and stats,” Howland added. 

“I’m really super-excited to be doing this,” she explained.

Di Carlo observed that Howland “has leadership qualities and can adapt to changing situations. She overcame some shyness during her first game and has built on her announcing and writing skills ever consistently.”

Howland is beyond thankful for the internship. “Al is so great at helping me prepare to call a game and responds quickly whenever we have questions,” she said.  She hopes to land an announcing spot at college in Boston, which she’ll start next fall. She is grateful to both Di Carlo and St. Luke’s for teaming up to offer the internships for students to learn and work as sports reporters in their own communities.

“This is an incredible thing, the most unique extracurricular activity and an amazing opportunity!” she says.