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Written by: Connor Bizal Now that it is August, players should be starting to prepare to go away to their teams for the season. For many, this means moving away from home and learning how to live on your own. For myself, I spent all three years of juniors more than 1000 miles away from my hometown. Starting my junior hockey career as an 18-year-old boy who did not have a clue about how to take care of myself without my parents, this was a difficult transition for me and continues to be for others. Here is how to conquer living away from home… In the AAA realm, when you are living away from home you are living with a billet family. In the junior hockey world, you are either living with a billet family or in a house/apartment with your teammates. Fortunately, I experienced both of these situations and learned many things from them.
BILLETING For those who are not familiar with what a billet family is, it is a host family for AAA and junior players. Families will open up their homes to players during their seasons and take them in as an additional family member. I am sure everyone who is reading this has heard their fair share of both good and bad stories regarding billeting, but this depends on geography, family availability, organization standards, etc. If your team has a good billet coordinator, they will put you with a family that can be trusted to fulfill your needs for the 7 or so months you are living with them. Personally, I only had the chance to billet my first year of juniors. My situation was absolutely perfect. My billets were a younger family who had 3 boys that were 7-years-old or less…and they all played hockey. TIP #1: MAKE YOURSELF A PART OF THE FAMILY Since my billet brothers were crazy about hockey and thought it was really cool that a hockey player was living in their house, I got dragged into many floor hockey games. I cannot even express how many minutes I logged playing goalie in their little knee hockey nets. Billeting can be awkward only if you let it be. Yes, you are moving into a house with people you have never met before and they are letting a complete stranger live with them for an extended period of time. Get comfortable and embrace your time with the family! There were definitely times where I wished I could have gone in my room and chilled instead of having to watch Paw Patrol with my little billet brothers, but, looking back at it, I cherish those times and I know the kids do as well. Make the most of your time with your family and BE a part of their family. Do not just be "that hockey player who lives in the guest bedroom." Junior hockey presents the opportunity to have more free time than you know what to do with. If you are not at the rink, you are trying to find ways to stay busy at home. This is where I learned the most in regards to living away from home. TIP #2: DEVELOP A ROUTINE I wrote a separate blog about this awhile back, but this is single handedly the most important lesson I learned throughout juniors. It is very easy to get bored and resort to playing video games all night or being on TikTok for way too long. Create a routine that will not only keep you busy and focused away from the rink, but it will also benefit your on-ice performance. Having a set routine that you do on a consistent basis will help you not dread boredom and will allow you to feel centered and productive. TIP #3: HAVE GOOD COMMUNICATION YOUR FAMILY This is sort of similar to my first tip in regards to having a good relationship with your family, but being open and honest with them is essential as well. At the end of the day, you are paying your billets to provide you with a good living space, food, basic necessities, etc. Do not be afraid to have a conversation with your billet parents surrounding your personal standards (i.e. what you are being fed) and the way you want to be taken care of. Obviously, you still need to respect their family guidelines/rules, but you should also have a say in how your are being provided for. Many billets expect communication regarding travel times, curfews, team plans, etc. Be sure to have an open line of communication with your billet parents and do not just settle for having your money go toward a simple roof over your head! APARTMENTS/TEAM HOUSES Many of the above tips can be applied to living on your own in an apartment or team house, but there is definitely more freedom involved in this category. Now you have to feed yourself and, literally, do everything on your own. This is what I did my last 2 years of juniors, and I certainly learned a lot. Having complete freedom can be good or bad, depending on what you do with it. Again, it can be easy to settle for playing video games all night, staying up late, eating unhealthy foods, etc. Take your freedom and put it toward pursuing the best version of yourself in all areas of life. Develop a healthy routine, eat healthy foods, go to bed at a reasonable time, get a job (if you can), find productive hobbies, etc. If you are living with your teammates, have fun with them! The memories I have from living with my teammates will stay with me forever and I now have many brothers for life. Plus, this is mainly how living is if you play college hockey, so you might as well get used to it now. Do fun things with your teammates, embrace the city/area you are living and playing in, and make the most of your time. Living on my own made me figure things out quicker and helped me mature more than I could have imagined. Living on your own is what you make of it and can help propel your career or sink it. All in all, moving away from home is usually never easy. There are definitely growing pains involved, but there are ways to make the most out of your time away from home and develop relationships/create memories that will last for a lifetime. It has been 3 years since I lived with my billet family, and I still receive FaceTime calls from my little billet brothers. This can be one of the coolest parts of playing AAA/juniors. Enjoy this opportunity! -Biz
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