The Team | Youngstown Phantoms Player Housing | ||||
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (July 27, 2009) – As most fans know, there is much more to sports than what goes on during the games. Players must put in the necessary work during both formal practices and personal workouts in order to be in top form once the action starts.
For the Youngstown Phantoms, proud new member of the United States Hockey League, there is a key off-ice aspect of the organization – relatively unknown to the general public – that is critical to getting good on-ice results: player housing.
In junior hockey leagues such as the USHL, teams rely heavily upon local families to provide an optimum home environment that allows the young players to successfully handle a rigorous schedule of games while also furthering their education.
“The greatest thing is the variety of families we get,” said Phantoms Housing Director Angie Mainhardt. “Housing is for people who are looking for young men to be role models, fit in and be part of the family.”
Becoming a housing family, or a “billet” in hockey vernacular, involves meeting just a couple requirements. The Phantoms only ask that prospective households provide separate living quarters and daily meals in exchange for a $250 per player per month grocery stipend.
The Phantoms enforce a rigid set of rules the players, aged 16 to 20, must follow, including a strict curfew. In addition, the future hockey stars provide their own cell phones and transportation.
Mainhardt said that while the team is interested in getting fresh people involved, from young families to “empty nesters who miss the excitement of people in their homes,” the Phantoms are fortunate and proud to have longtime reliable households that can provide an example and support for newer billets.
Mike McCarthy, a housing father since the Phantoms’ inception in 2003, has seen his life transformed since he and his family began taking in players.
“We didn’t know what to expect before we started,” McCarthy said. “I knew absolutely nothing about hockey before finding out about the housing program, but now both my sons are playing (in the Phantom Fireworks Youth Hockey League) and we’ve become huge hockey fans.”
McCarthy, who will billet third-year Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett and newcomer Taylor Holstrom this upcoming season, advises new housing families to accept that “each player you take in will be different so don’t have any preconceived notions about their personalities or how they will fit into daily life.”
McCarthy and his family have done such a good job assimilating players that the families of two young men (John Houston and Kyle Van) whom they housed in the past are coming to the area for a cookout in the near future.
Anyone interested in bringing a young Phantom or two into their homes can contact either Angie Mainhardt at 330.719.6086 or Phantoms Head Coach Bob Mainhardt at 330.965.7500. Players arrive in mid-August and stay until at least the end of the regular season in early April, depending on how far the team advances in the USHL playoffs.
“We really look for strong character kids to come in, because that’s what ends up transforming into good hockey players,” said Bob Mainhardt. “We’ve been very fortunate and lucky to have a tremendous group of housing families, but we’re always looking and we’re always in need of good families that would be interesting in having a part in these young men’s futures.”
For the last word on how well a billet can work, absorb the testimony of Phantoms billet mother Connie Black: “Whether they are helping with homework, playing games, watching TV or accompanying my daughter to Father-Daughter Night at school when her dad was out of town, it really has made them part of our family.”
Visit www.youngstownphantoms.com or call the Front Office at 330.747.PUCK(7825) for more information on the Phantoms organization. The Youngstown Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company (Phantom Fireworks), located in Youngstown, Ohio.
The Phantoms are a proud member of the United States Hockey League (USHL), America’s only Tier I hockey league and premier developer of National Hockey League talent with more than 100 alumni on current NHL rosters.
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  written by Jeff Eshelman, July 31, 2009
As a former Housing Parent "Billet" Family, I can not tell you how rewarding it is to meet these young men and their families, my wife and I have made life long friends with these players and their families.
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 July 2009 08:29 ) |
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