But Amber and her husband, Eric, decided to take a leap of faith and become a billet family for the Southern Tier Xpress, the local North American Tier III Hockey League team that was looking for host families.

Fast-forward three seasons, having hosted numerous players during their playing careers in Jamestown, Amber is now the billet family coordinator for the team and wants others to enjoy the 2017-18 Xpress in a way that she and her family have experienced the past three seasons.

The Xpress are ready to take the ice for their fourth season in Jamestown. As always, the team will have local players, but many of the players leave home to pursue their dream of playing hockey at the next level. In the process, they need a place to call home.

“It’s neat to watch the boys grow and see how they interact with the community, especially their billet families,” Amber said late last week. “They become their families.”

The Smith family is pictured with Xpress players who were housed with them. Submitted photo

Billet families are the backbone of junior hockey. The billet families are a gift for players. Not only do they open up their homes to the young men, they make them part of their family. Lifelong support and relationships are built that surpass the players’ time spent in the arena. Some players come back and make the region their homes. Billets are the most valuable part of a player’s success.

“We keep in touch with all of the kids. You get a really nice, strong bond between the boys and their families. That’s forever,” Amber said. “The boys have come back and visited. We’ve even traveled and visited some of the boys. … We get text messages, phone calls on holidays and birthdays. Even just text messages to say ‘Hey, how are you?’ Even though they aren’t here, they still keep in touch. We are their second family. I treat them like they are our own kids.”

When a family volunteers to house a member of the team, they are required to provide the player with their own room or area. This includes providing nutritious food that is available for them to prepare for the billets or for the billets to prepare for the player. Billets are expected to treat the players as “one of the family” and not just a renter. The same goes for the player, as for cleaning up after themselves and keeping their room tidy. There are team guidelines and policies that the players must abide by within the organization and the billet families are expected to uphold and enforce these team rules. All billet house rules will need to be communicated to the players when they arrive. Players are responsible for their own transportation and are encouraged to hold a part-time job or attend school.

“Every single player, if their families have little kids, they treat those kids as little brothers and sisters,” said Amber, who has an 8-year-old son Cooper, and an 11-year-old son Brandon. “They watch them, teach them, hang out with them. Many times I’ve had eight to 12 boys here just playing with my boys.”

Billet families receive the support of the coaching staff, housing coordinator and other billet families. Players will be placed with families that best suit their accommodation needs. A monthly stipend will be given to the billet families in return for their housing of an Xpress player. The stipend each month is to help offset additional food and utility expenses of the household.

Players are between the ages of 16 and 20. For many of them, it is their first time away from home, making it essential that they are comfortable with the family with which they are staying. There are generally two players per household to limit the strain on those who open their homes. Most players have transportation of their own and if not, they are placed with a player who does. The players arrive in the first of week of August and leave in mid-March or April.

“Some of them are school-aged and enroll in local schools The school districts are really good about that,” Amber said. “Other boys who are not in school may do online classes or may work. Some of them do both. Some of the boys in high school take online classes, but most of them enroll in local school to have that social experience in a school.”

Those interested in becoming a billet family for the 2017-18 season or who would like additional information should contact Amber Smith at 665-9642 or email Xpresshockeyas@gmail.com.

“We did not know too much about hockey, but now it’s hockey 24-7. A group of us last year went to an (Erie) Otters game. We try to do things as a group and make the boys feel like they are at home,” Amber said. “My boys just started playing house hockey last year because the big boys taught them how to play.

“For the last three years we have had boys in and out of our house, but we wouldn’t trade it. We love it.”