BILLET FAMILIES ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES OF WOODSMEN ORGANIZATION
TOMAH, Wis. — “It takes a village to raise a child.”
The ancient African proverb isn’t just limited to raising children — the same can be said of running an NA3HL junior hockey organization.
There’s the players, coaches, scouts, owners … and probably the biggest, unsung heroes — the billet families.
Just ask Wisconsin Woodsmen co-owner Ryan Egan.
“Billet families are the heart and soul of a junior hockey organization,” he said. “With their unwavering support, I’m not sure we could survive.”
Kenny and Katelyn Helgerson, along with their three sons, opened their home to five different Woodsmen players during their first season in Tomah a year ago — and they are eager to do it again in the team’s second season in 2024-25.
“We will unquestionably continue to be a billet family,” Kenny said. “This experience has brought so much joy to our family and friends, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We love hockey, we love the Woodsmen and we love our players.”
According to Helgerson, being heavily invested in the Tomah Youth Hockey Association made it a bit of a no-brainer to have his family open their doors to the Woodsmen players.
“Our family is heavily involved in Tomah Youth Hockey, including being a board member,” said Kenny. “When we heard about the opportunity, we knew we had guest bedrooms that would work perfectly. Our house is five minutes from the rink and we have three young boys that play hockey, so it really was a perfect marriage of circumstances.”
And once the players arrived it was as if the Helgerson household had grown from a family of five, to a family of as many as 10.
“Every billet family is different in how they run their household and what they want from the relationship,” explained Kenny. “Katelyn and I talked about how we wanted to be as a billet family prior to signing up. Our stance was to treat the players as young adults who would otherwise be in college. We offered the opportunity to be a part of anything we were doing, but never expected it or forced it.
“As billets, our role in the organization is to be a solid, consistent presence in a home atmosphere,” he added. “Billets are paid a monthly stipend to help feed and house the players. It’s not necessarily a ‘parent’ role, but the players are still young and like guidance from time to time.”
Once the Woodsmen players joined the Helgerson fold, it did not take long for life-long relationships to be formed — relationships that will change lives forever.
“It’s hard to find the right words to explain how great our relationships were — and still are — with our players,” Kenny said, noting that through a series of questionnaires, families are matched with players that would work well in billet’s home. “The Woodsmen organization goes above and beyond to find young men with great character. During the course of the season, we had a total of five players spend time in our home — including one from the Czech Republic and one from Latvia.
“In a way, I feel like we have become a home base in the States for our Euro ‘family,’” Kenny added. “We have three boys (ages 4, 7,and 9) who play hockey. To say our kids loved having the players stay with us would be a gross understatement. Our players played knee hockey, video games, and many other activities with the boys.
“There is no doubt in my mind that most billet families build a relationship for life with some of these players.”
If you’d like to become a Woodsmen billet family, contact Ryan Egan at regancoach24@gmail.com or call 402-306-8392.
