It’s more than about money for billet families

Home away from home for players is an integral part of junior teams

For 12 years John and Lisa Guiney have welcomed Victoria Grizzlies players into their home, billeting out-of-town players as they look to progress their hockey careers to the university or professional levels.

“It was the 2003-04 Salsa season when we first started, because they needed a home for a player they were bringing in for playoff time. They brought in a boy from Montreal and he needed a home. We volunteered and it’s been non-stop ever since,” said Lisa.

That first billet was Chris Churchill Smith, a forward who ended up playing at McGill University.

This season, Cody Van Lierop will return for his third year with the Grizzlies and the Guineys, whose son Nick has also played with the B.C. Hockey League club the last two years. Younger brother Jordan Guiney is expected to suit up for the Victoria Cougars.

“All our billets seem to end up in school and that’s been tremendous role modeling for our kids,” said Lisa. “They’ve all worked very hard and earned their scholarships and are doing a variety of different things.

“We’ve had everything from 16-year-old rookies, like Evan Richardson, to 20-year-old vets. We’ve had great times with guys like the Benn brothers [Jamie and Jordie] and [Tyler] Bozak coming to visit. It’s been fun and very memorable.”

And the billets have become family, forming a life-long bond. In fact, the Guineys attended the wedding of another billet in Quebec City.

“Dayne Davis was a 20-yearold goalie from Ontario. He was our first billet who got married. He now lives in Australia and plays hockey there and they just had a baby a couple of months ago,” Lisa said proudly. “And Tommy Fitzpatrick, of Fort McMurray, was our first billet to have a baby, which was also exciting, and he was the first person we thought of with the Fort McMurray fires this year. I quickly messaged him and his mom right away and made sure they were safe.

“That’s the good thing about Facebook, you can keep in touch with everybody, no matter where they are in the world right now.”

Richardson and another Guiney billet, Jesse Schwartz, are currently teammates at the University of Connecticut.

“It’s kind of funny that they ended up together and that they come back and visit. We just had Jesse here. He’s come back and visited three times and stays with us for a week. They all love Victoria,” said Lisa.

“When we started billeting, our kids, Nick and Jordan, were 7 and 4, so it was like having an older brother in the house, someone to play road hockey with, or video games. They really are a part of your family.”

It all started when the Guineys attended Salsa games in the early 2000’s and the team announced the need for more host homes.

“Our kids played hockey so we thought it would be interesting. We thought we would check into the next season and they said they needed them right now. It was literally days later that Chris showed up,” recalled Lisa.

Living with a billet family also helps ease the transition for Grizzlies players, many of whom come from outside B.C. and the country.

“I think billets play a huge role in a players’ success,” said Grizzlies defenceman Jake Stevens, who will be entering his second season with the team this fall.

Stevens is from Naperville, Illinois, and played his high school hockey near Chicago.

“You need to feel comfortable being away from home and living in a new city or country so that there are no external factors affecting your play. I’m fortunate to have such a great billet family. My billet mom makes me all the food I need and does all my laundry. I’m probably a little spoiled. But I’d bet the Grizzlies have the best billets in the league. We are treated very well and are welcomed into their homes as part of their family. I could have played other places this year, and one of the reasons I wanted to stay in Victoria is because I feel very much at home.”

The Grizzlies are not the only team that requires billet homes. Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League teams in the area are in the same position, as are the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League, Victoria HarbourCats baseball club and Westshore Rebels junior football team.

Grizzlies billet information can be obtained by emailing noelle@victoriagrizzlies.com. Most teams’ websites and social media accounts also have information on becoming a billet.

Stipends are paid to assist with feeding and housing the players.

“It’s about the love of the game,” said Lisa. “These guys all need a place to live. One time my kids saw on Twitter that one of the new players, during camp, had posted that he was making noodles in a coffee pot in a hotel room and that just broke my heart.

“I was like, ‘That boy needs a billet home,’ so I phoned again and said we would do it again this season and I said, ‘Can we have that boy who is making the noodles in the coffee pot? He needs a home.’

“It’s definitely not for the money,” stressed Lisa. “We love the game. We’ve gone since the Salsa days and it’s always been a part of our family.”