Ready for 'PrimeTime' Television class garners National Student Award for baseball show BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer HOLMDEL - Unlike most high school freshmen, Michael Collins had a good inkling of what he wanted to do with his life. "I took a class called Introduction to Television," said Collins, now a senior at Holmdel High School. "I really got hooked after that and I had a lot of fun in the class." Collins took his interest a step further, asking Roger Benedict, the teacher of the class, if he could start his own television program, utilizing the school's resources. "It was the students that wanted to get involved with this program and get it started, so I thought it was a good idea," Benedict said. "It's not tough to get kids motivated if it's a topic that they're really into." It didn't take Collins long to round up a group of friends, who, like him, were interested in baseball. They created "Baseball PrimeTime," a weekly 15-30-minute program designed to look beyond the box score and delve into deeper topics related to the game. In its first year, the program garnered a Best in Show award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter, consisting of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Last year, the show received an honorable mention award. This year, the praise kept on coming as Collins and the rest of the crew were given the National Student Award from the New York chapter. "After last year, we formatted things a bit differently for this year," Benedict explained. "I thought the concept of the show was great and I wanted to see if maybe the students could do even better. Benedict credited Collins with getting things off the ground. "He really took the time to get his friends together and they would always spend time after school taping the program and making sure things went smoothly," Benedict said. "We really have received lots of interest in what we're doing with the show." Collins feels like he has found his niche and wants to continue his fledgling career at NYU in the fall as a journalism major with a focus on broadcasting. "If I had my way, I'd be a news anchor. I'm really a news junkie even though I do a show on baseball," Collins said. "I try to be as professional as I can when we're taping the show, and I think it's really been a help for me." "Baseball PrimeTime" can be seen on Channel 97 on Comcast, a fact that some in the hallways of the high school already know. "It's kind of cool when somebody comes up to you at school and say, 'Hey, I saw you on TV last night.' At least I know that our hard work is being seen by people," Collins said.