Nov. 30, 2005

For most people, moving away to attend college is a major change in their lives. For Miami freshman forward Justin Mercier it was just another in a long line of stops to play the game he loves. Traveling throughout the Mid-West to play hockey was not easy but now that he has landed in Oxford, Ohio, he recounts his long journey in his own words with "Wandering the Hockey Road."

Wandering the Hockey Road

 by Justin Mercier

I am originally from Erie, Pa., where the rest of my family still lives. I grew up there, playing AAA hockey for the Cleveland Barons and making the 200-mile round trip three or four times per week. With a younger brother and sister at home, it eventually became more traveling than my family could take and I needed to make a decision. At the young age of 14 I needed to leave home if hockey was what I wanted to do with my life.

I began my journey living in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., playing for Honeybaked AAA. After a few months in Bloomfield Hills my living arrangements weren't working out so I moved in with a family in Grand Blanc, where I finished out the year.  That first time I moved away from home, it was really more of a question of who was I going to meet; there's new teachers and new students to meet, and my hockey friends from Cleveland aren't there. 

The following season I was presented with the opportunity to move up a division, with the Compuware midget major team, and I jumped at the chance. I moved in with a family in Canton, Mich., where I attended Canton High School, my third high school in two years. My year at Canton was an exciting year, leading my team to the state championship where we lost in double overtime in the State Finals. When I was in Detroit, I was fortunate enough to be able to live with a family that I was friends with growing up.  They had moved from my hometown to Detroit, and allowed me to move in with them.

Three high schools in two years was a lot to handle, but I wasn't finished. During the spring of my year at Canton I was drafted by the St. Louis Heartland Eagles of the United States Hockey League. In the fall I moved in with a family in Chesterfield, Mo., and attended Lafayette High School.  Everyone there really helped me out with the home aspect.  There were home-cooked meals and they really made me feel at home.  At the end of the season the Eagles folded and I was again in search of a new home, and a new school.

That summer I was asked to play with the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., and I accepted, skating for the under-18 team. I moved to Ann Arbor and enrolled at Huron High School, my fifth in four years. The team had a very successful season, including going undefeated in international competition and winning the World Championship in April.

For my real family, it was tough for them to come watch me play.  Really the only time they could come see me play was when I was in Detroit, because the other teams were west of there.  I would say that my parents only got up there once every couple of months.  The first few months away from home, up until about November and December, were the toughest.  After that I was able to get through the homesickness and see them on a semi-regular basis, a few times every two months. 

After living out of a suitcase for the past four years I was ready to settle down.  Moving between five cities, attending five different high schools and playing for four different teams had taken its toll on me. It was really important to me to find a home.  It was something I couldn't wait to do. I had been through so much growing up and been to so many different places that I wanted to make sure that I found a place I would be happy at for four years.  I have found a home at Miami, a place to grow roots and stay for good.

I still keep in touch with those families that I lived with.  The family whom I lived with two years ago moved to Australia.  I talk to them regularly via e-mail and we talk over the internet with this video phone thing and I am actually planning on going to visit them this coming summer.  One of the sons who I lived with my freshman year is coming to Miami next year.  All in all, I have made a lot of great relationships with the people that I've lived with.