Joey Payeur
Mary Polz and Jane Johnstone weren’t beating around the bush.
“We are very short of billets,” Polz said bluntly in regards to the lack of current available households willing to take in members of the Fort Frances Lakers for the upcoming SIJHL season.
Polz and Johsntone are not only members of the Lakers’ board of directors and in charge of the billeting responsibility for the team, they are also both long-time billets themselves spanning more than a decade and a half.
“You want the players to have a good house to live in where there’s food for their breakfasts and lunch and also a chance for them to sit down for a family meal at supper,” stated Johnstone.
“You get to know the kids and it’s important for them to have someone coming out to the games that they know cheering them on if they’re from out of town.”
One of those Fort Frances newcomers is Lakers defenceman Craig Murray, whose parents, Kelley and Robert Murray, made the trip with their son from New Glasgow, N.S., to watch him try out for the team at this past weekend’s training camp.
“It’s tough on a parent,” admitted Kelley about having to leave her child in an unfamiliar community for the winter.
“We didn’t know we were coming for sure until about two weeks ago,” she continued.
“We’ve never missed a game in Craig’s life. We’ve been to every single one.
“But after having met his billet mom (Johnstone), we feel better about the whole experience.”
Kelly confessed her main worry was Craig getting hurt, although Robert seemed accepting of the fact injuries are part of the game.
“The first thing we checked was how far the hospital was away from the arena,” he confided.
“We were happy to find out (La Verendrye Hospital) isn’t far at all.”
The players are billeted in accordance to things like transportation accessibility, with the plan often being to put players together in a billet home where at least one of them has a vehicle to get to and from practices and games.
But interested billet families can also just accept one player under their care if that’s more viable for them.
Billets are given $400 per month compensation for each player they take in to cover living costs and also one Lakers season ticket for each player (maximum of two tickets per billet).
Johnstone maintained it has been rare that a player and a billet family haven’t fit well together, but added if a situation arose where a player had to be shifted out of a billet home, it would be done immediately.
In her and Polz’s experience, though, the bond their families have formed with Laker players over the year has been a positive and nurturing one.
“(Former captain) Cody Wickstrom has come back the last two years to visit—he’s part of the family,” maintained Polz.
“I’ve been able to go to New York the last three years because I was invited down by a player we had in our home who was from New Jersey,” added Johnstone.
“He still phones me on Mother’s Day.”
For Polz, it’s simple math.
“The bottom line is these kids are 16-20 years old,” she declared.
“They’re just kids. They need a family, too.
“That’s important for a parent to know their child will be taken care of,” chimed in Johnstone.
“It makes sense that they will play much better knowing they are being taken care of.”
Anyone interesting in becoming a billet can contact Johnstone at 274-5228 or 276-1900, as well as Polz at 274-7264.
