Looking for a Good Home

The out-of-town players have started arriving and so begins the process of finding a good home for them to stay in while they play out the season. Billeting is an unique opportunity to help out with arguably one of the most important roles of the daily operations of the hockey club. Housing, and more importantly making a player feel at home, is one area that has a huge impact on the success of individual players and the team as a whole.

The Spruce Kings are made up of local players that get to continue on without any interuptions to their basic routines and rituals, but for the out-of-town player they don't get that same luxury. Imagine the life of a young player that will experience their first real extended stay away from home. Getting them into a comfortable setting is very important to making the transition as smooth as possible.

This week there are some sixty hopefuls and returning players arriving in town to participate in the annual main camp. An expected half of those will stay past the weekend and into the exhibition season. Whether they are local or not, all will require a place to stay where they can experience all the comforts of home.

I have personally experienced the billet experience and can say that it is truely one that you will never forget. I have had a total of three different players stay at my house over the years and all three can be considered members of my extended family. To this day, we stay in touch reminiscing about the days they played for the Spruce Kings but also talking about their present lives and what the future holds for them.

The players develop a schedule based on their hockey lives and the routines of their host families. The players have a network that ensures they look after each other when it comes to getting to practices, games and other team functions. It is the host family that ensures the players have an area they can call their own with the daily essentials. The team also makes sure that everything continues to work to the satisfaction of both the host family and the players.

Although there is a monthly financial allowance for the host family as well as season tickets, the real reward in taking in a billet is the relationship that develops. Over the years I have seen it countless times where the player becomes a member of the family ... another son, brother and mentor. I am reminded of these relationships all the time; most recently when Jordy Christian came from Minnesota to visit with his host family from two seasons ago.

The first players to arrive this week will be the returning players followed by the new prospects and hopefuls. If you are interested in either trying out the role of being a host family or you want to billet for the entire season, please call or email the Spruce Kings office and I will gladly talk to you about it in further detail. You can also drop me a comment on this particular post and I will get it on my BlackBerry and be able to respond to it shortly afterwards.