Post by Wince on Aug 14, 2007 10:28:02 GMT -4
Nice article about hockey billets... people who I sometimes feel don't get proper recognition.
www.standard-freeholder.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=651825&catname=Sports&classif=
There's always room for a Colt; Jansens say billeting junior hockey players worth it
Katie May / Standard-Freeholder
Sports - Tuesday, August 14, 2007 @ 08:00
They've been inviting hockey players into their home for more than a decade, and now Brenda and Henry Jansen want to help other city residents get to know their Cornwall Colts.
The Long Sault couple has been boarding a non-resident Colts player every season for the past 11 years. This year, as the team's billeting co-ordinators, they will interview potential host families to place about 14 players between the ages of 16 and 20.
Mike Piquette, the Colts' operations manager, says the billet program has been running in the area for nearly 15 years and the team hasn't had any recent problems finding a home for all of its out-of-town players. This year, the area will go into billet overdrive to provide a roof for players arriving in the city to play for the Royal Bank Cup.
All billet families receive $375 and two Colts game tickets each month starting when players move in at the end of August until the season ends or until the team trades the player.
That's certainly not the reason for billeting, Henry says.
They have to open their doors to hockey players just for love of the game. He says players are great role models for young, aspiring hockey players in the community, including the couple's own 15-year-old son.
"It kind of teaches him that sports and hockey and education all go together," he says.
Brenda agrees. She says players have become like big brothers to her son, who played hockey until several collarbone injuries kept him off the rink.
'They just become part of the family," she says. "You can't have anyone live in your house and not get attached."
"They love it when you bake for them," she laughs.
It's "heartbreaking" when players get traded mid-season and have to leave the city, says Brenda. She compares the experience to a parent seeing a child off to college for the first time.
And heading off to an American college with a hefty athletic scholarship is the main goal for most of the players in the Central Junior "A" Hockey League.
The Jansens have seen many Colts rise through the ranks of amateur hockey and go on to play at schools across Canada and the U.S. - and the couple is proud to be a part of the dream.
"Everyone's goal is really to do that, like all the true little hockey players," says Brenda. "We get some real sweethearts who call us up and come visit (after their stay ends)."
The couple is looking for supportive local families to take players in for a few months, but they say hosts don't need to have extensive knowledge of the game.
"It doesn't take long to turn a non-hockey person into a hockey person," Brenda says.
www.standard-freeholder.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=651825&catname=Sports&classif=
There's always room for a Colt; Jansens say billeting junior hockey players worth it
Katie May / Standard-Freeholder
Sports - Tuesday, August 14, 2007 @ 08:00
They've been inviting hockey players into their home for more than a decade, and now Brenda and Henry Jansen want to help other city residents get to know their Cornwall Colts.
The Long Sault couple has been boarding a non-resident Colts player every season for the past 11 years. This year, as the team's billeting co-ordinators, they will interview potential host families to place about 14 players between the ages of 16 and 20.
Mike Piquette, the Colts' operations manager, says the billet program has been running in the area for nearly 15 years and the team hasn't had any recent problems finding a home for all of its out-of-town players. This year, the area will go into billet overdrive to provide a roof for players arriving in the city to play for the Royal Bank Cup.
All billet families receive $375 and two Colts game tickets each month starting when players move in at the end of August until the season ends or until the team trades the player.
That's certainly not the reason for billeting, Henry says.
They have to open their doors to hockey players just for love of the game. He says players are great role models for young, aspiring hockey players in the community, including the couple's own 15-year-old son.
"It kind of teaches him that sports and hockey and education all go together," he says.
Brenda agrees. She says players have become like big brothers to her son, who played hockey until several collarbone injuries kept him off the rink.
'They just become part of the family," she says. "You can't have anyone live in your house and not get attached."
"They love it when you bake for them," she laughs.
It's "heartbreaking" when players get traded mid-season and have to leave the city, says Brenda. She compares the experience to a parent seeing a child off to college for the first time.
And heading off to an American college with a hefty athletic scholarship is the main goal for most of the players in the Central Junior "A" Hockey League.
The Jansens have seen many Colts rise through the ranks of amateur hockey and go on to play at schools across Canada and the U.S. - and the couple is proud to be a part of the dream.
"Everyone's goal is really to do that, like all the true little hockey players," says Brenda. "We get some real sweethearts who call us up and come visit (after their stay ends)."
The couple is looking for supportive local families to take players in for a few months, but they say hosts don't need to have extensive knowledge of the game.
"It doesn't take long to turn a non-hockey person into a hockey person," Brenda says.