Approximately 25 hockey players will ride into town to join the New Mexico Renegades Junior "A" Hockey Club. These players are here to earn higher-level junior or collegiate hockey opportunities and will spend the the next 8 months dedicated to hockey to achieve that goal. Who do they move here with though?
The short answer, no one. Junior players often relocate alone to a new city and culture. For the most part, they live with billet families. These kind families invite hockey players into their home. Some families are empty-nesters. Some are single-parent households. Some have a full blown family but just want to add on even more. Billet families come in all sorts of sizes and it truly is an adventure. Junior players act as mentors to younger children while also forming a true bond with the housing parents. It's a very unique experience that is almost always positive.
Billet families receive a monthly fee paid to them for housing these players, and the New Mexico Renegades reward these families with free season tickets as well. You will also get to meet the rest of the team and make a lot of connections. You might even have a future NHLer living in your home. Talk about a possible payoff!
But seriously, billeting is an incredibly fun experience and definitely a great way to spice up your life. If you are interested, head to the New Mexico Renegades web site,
http://www.nmrenegades.com/ or contact Rob Vitek, head of the Renegades' "Bunkhouse Program", at
rp4636@hotmail.com for more information.
