The junior hockey season is right around the corner - and the Vengeance need your help!

The Pittsburgh Vengeance Junior team is entering their second season in the United States Premier Hockey League Premier Division (USPHL.com), which is the premier Tier 3 junior hockey league on the East Coast. We are also fielding a second junior team at the USPHL Elite level. We believe this move puts our players under the right eyes for advancing up the hockey ladder. Located in Pittsburgh, PA, the Alpha Ice Complex is the home facility for our teams. 

This spring and summer, athletes from throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe are competing for the opportunity to play for the Vengeance in the 2019-20 hockey season.   Players that are selected will need to find a place to call home during the playing season.   As such, we are currently accepting applications for families to host these athletes.  

The role of a host family is instrumental in providing a complete junior hockey experience for these young hockey players.  Our players are here in search of their dream to play hockey at the collegiate and professional level. This is not possible without the support and generosity of our host families. Host families provide structure, authority and become an extended family for these young players, thus providing an ideal environment for them to remain focused and compelled to achieve.  

Hosting a Pittsburgh Vengeance player is a great experience, whether you have a house full of kids or you live alone.  Our junior players can help host families with weekly tasks associated with younger family members.  Cooking meals, babysitting, tutoring, street hockey and driving kids to and from activities.  They will bring energy and excitement to your home, and you will get to know a great bunch of parents and families that are part of our unique organization.  

If you are interested in hosting a Pittsburgh Vengeance player, please contact David Dorsey via email at dorsey@vengeancehockey.com.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Hosting, or “billeting”, a player is a hockey tradition.  From youth players in Canada, to junior players in the United States, to the AHL, and the NHL, the billeting tradition has helped many young athletes get acclimated to their new cities, schools and teams.  Host families from the local community, by opening up their homes to young athletes, provide these players the opportunity to pursue their dreams in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Players arrive in the Pittsburgh area in mid-late August and will stay through the end of the hockey season.  The season will typically end by mid-late March or early April.  High School players will likely stay through the end of the school year, so that they can continue their education and off-season training.

Host families will receive a monthly monetary stipend to offset expenses incurred by hosting, but the real benefit to host families is the lasting relationships formed with these young players and their families.

WHAT WE ASK OF THE HOST FAMILY:

• Provide a furnished room for the player or a furnished room to share with another billet player.
• Provide nutritious meals for the player or have food on hand that the player can prepare on his own.
• Allow the player to use amenities in the home such as Internet, TV, washer, dryer, etc…
• Players are considered “one of the family”, not just a boarder.  So, we ask that the host family provide structure for the player by creating  “home rules” and helping enforce team rules relating to curfew, visitors and standards of behavior.
• Comply with USA Hockey screening requirements.

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM OUR PLAYERS:

• Follow all host family and team rules and show respect and consideration towards all family members.  If any house rules are broken, the player may be released from the Pittsburgh Vengeance.
• Provide their own bed and bath linens, personal care items, cell phones and computers.
• Provide for their own transportation unless other arrangements have been made with the billet family.
• Take care of their room, including keeping it clean and doing their own laundry.
• Notify the host family of their whereabouts and stay in the billet home each night unless traveling with the Pittsburgh Vengeance.
• When traveling to away games, players are responsible for their own meals.

Seek part-time employment or take high school or college courses in their free time.

We value the importance of our host families and appreciate your willingness to open up your home and become a mentor to our young athletes.  Your generosity will not be taken for granted!

If you are interested in learning more or becoming a billet family, please contact dorsey@vengeancehockey.com!

Thank you,

The Staff of the Pittsburgh Vengeance