Bear-Bytes: Ava Bear Football to Stream Digitally

By Jason Hoekema

Known as the game voice at Kerr Field this spring, Tysen Hathcock is a name known amongst the sports journalists covering Ava High School athletics. With the soundwaves echoing the play-by-play on KKOZ and the post-game wrap-ups in Thursday’s editions of the Douglas County Herald, there was one realm left to make sure Ava Football was literally covered from all angles. 

Hathcock, a student at Missouri State, has been investing time and money for equipment to bring live-stream coverage of the Bears to the people of Douglas County. 

His experiences from working at JQH Arena and covering other sporting events in Springfield has led to his desire to bring some of that “big team” media treatment to Ava. 

Don’t throw out your plans for the home opener just yet. Hathcock wants the faithful following to go and support the Bears at the games, but he knows that life sometimes gets in the way. 

Via the site, www.tdhmedia.net, Hathcock and his three game cameras will bring the Bears to your home (or office if you got stuck at work) and across most platforms. 

Phone, tablet, computer… as long as you can get to the stream, the Bears will be playing their hearts out on your display.

The plan right now is to have two cameras set up at the press box and another roaming the sideline at whichever stadium the Bears will play at this year. With a production studio built into a covered cargo trailer, Hathcock will be able to change angles and even talk to camera operators about what he wants to see going out to the fans. 

The stream will include some of the same game tidbits such as the official game clock, score, current down, and line of scrimmage. 

As most good things in life, the service is not free. The Missouri State High School Activities Association does charge a hefty fee to broadcast live games. To offset those costs, TDH Media will charge $5 for a non-conference game, $8 for any SCA conference game, and $10 for postseason grinds on the gridiron. 

The games will be available online the week following the game as well, free of charge.

The service isn’t just for sports consumers, either. Hathcock will need help operating cameras through the season and is interested in student volunteers who are thinking about a career in visual media or sports. 

For more details, visit www.tdhmedia.net

FULL DISCLOSURE: TDH Media and the Douglas County Herald are in a working relationship to aid in providing comprehensive coverage of Ava High School football.