To start off, I want to thank you for taking the time to show your interest in the Tacoma Knights Hockey Club program, and to say congratulations to the players who have decided to become Knights for this upcoming season. For some parents, I am sure this is a brand new process for you - this is the first time your son will be leaving home. I realize this can be a scary thought, but I want to assure you that this will be a operation run with integrity and your son will be in good hands. I personally screen every billet home prior to a player moving in.
A little about my background: I played in the U.S National Development Program, so I have been through this same process beginning at a very young age. I left home at 15 years old, to play in the Select 16 festival in Rochester, New York. In the previous season, I played Junior B for the New York Bobcats in Long Island and at the age of 15, I was the youngest player in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League.
My family and I never believed I had a chance of making Team U.S.A. The last day of the Select 16 festival, Coach Moe Mantha (Head of the U.S. Program) approached my parents and said that “your son is an extremely talented player, I had a major upside, etc, etc.” What made it real was when he informed my parents “You're going to lose your son”. My mother was upset, yet extremely proud and excited that I would get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was later asked to join the National Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
I feel that when your son gets to this pivotal point, the only option is to leave home if he wants to further his hockey career. I have seen very talented players who didn't leave home and it hindered their career immensely. In some cases, that decision ended their hockey career all together. With that being said you have two options:
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You can sell your home and move to where your son is playing junior hockey. I personally do not recommend this because your son may excel very quickly with the right coaching and development and may move on the North American Hockey League, the United States Hockey League, and or a University. In addition, by doing this, you may hinder the experience and the whole point of why this billet program has been designed. I will later touch on this below.
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He can live with a Billet/housing family for the duration of the Junior Hockey season and return home for the summer. Also, when the hockey season is over, he can finish the school year back at home with his friends and family if he chooses so. I recommend when the season is over transferring home and spending time with family and friends. I feel this is extremely important as well. It's totally up to the billet family and the player.
What is a Billet? A Billet is a person or family who chooses to open their home to one or more of our Tacoma Knights players. These Billet families are not doing this to make money. They are doing this to help our program succeed and to give your son an experience that will help him in maturing as a hockey player, and aiding his personal growth. Billet families are taking in our players and making them a part of their family. This is not an easy task – it is a huge responsibility for these people, and there is no reward. Anyone that has a child knows that they eat an incredible amount of food. Throw in a high level athlete who trains for four hours a day - he will eat more than the average teenager. In our billet program the billets receive a $320 dollar check on a monthly basis to compensate them for the food cost/bills.
From my personal experience, leaving home was the best thing for me as young teenager and the best thing for my hockey career. If I did not leave home at the age I did, I would not be as successful as I am today. The first few weeks, you may miss home and be completely out of your element, but this is natural for anyone who leaves home no matter their age. The billeting program prepared me for life in general, not to mention that it prepared me for university and professional hockey. Due to the billeting program, I had a major advantage over regular teenagers who were going into college/University and other student athletes who lived at home their whole lives. There wasn't any adjustment period when I had reached the University of Nebraska Omaha because I had left home previously and been through that experience over the past couple years. That transition was natural in that it just seemed like another year.
Another important lesson I learned from the billeting experience was time management. Not only is this important for life, but it comes in handy when you are attending University while playing hockey. Most student athletes at the collegiate level run into time management problems during their freshmen year and sometimes even their sophomore year. However, a player who has been on his own 1- 4 years playing juniors had no choice but to learn time management. He will be ahead of the curve.
A final lesson, I learned was how to communicate and socialize in a new settings. It is not easy moving away from home, leaving your friends, family, and everything you've known behind. It is crucial to get out of your comfort zone and be pushed to your highest potential. Upon joining our program, your child will learn how to communicate on a professional level with the coaching staff, teachers at school, and their billet family. They will learn how to handle any situation, independently, with maturity and respect. All in all, they will learn life skills not only for on the ice but also off the ice All of this will help them succeed beyond hockey. They will be ready for Life.
