Lynden has an inspired player as Whatcom teams head toward football playoffs
When someone tells Lane Heeringa that he has a “big heart” or lauds him as “a real warrior,” the way Lynden football coach Blake VanDalen describes him, the inspirational junior knows who gave him his courage and leadership.
His mother, the former Natasha Zylstra, is recovering from a Sept. 27 heart transplant.
His father, Reese Heeringa, served with the Marines in Iraq and became a member of the elite Navy Seals.
“My parents truly inspire me,” said Heeringa, who has emerged as one of the Northwest Conference’s steadiest and most competitive players.
When Heeringa’s parents saw him play well at running back and linebacker in the Lions’ title clincher Oct. 22, it was their first such opportunity since Natasha’s transplant surgery less than a month earlier.
With Natasha too vulnerable to COVID-19 to sit in the stands, they watched from a recreational vehicle supplied by the family of running back Luke Human. As they were parked on the track behind the west end zone, community members and players saluted them.
“The RV was ideal,” Heeringa said. “I couldn’t have asked for more. It meant so much for me to have both of my parents there.”
They saw their son score a touchdown and contribute plenty of tackles and yardage in the 38-14 win over Archbishop Murphy.
“It was awesome, such a blessing,” Natasha said of her community support. “(Coach) Blake ordered stickers for everyone to wear on their helmets.”
Heeringa, an honor student with a 3.8 grade-point average, could not have been prouder to wear such a sticker.
“I think every day how grateful I am to have them as parents,” said Heeringa, who followed up with 130 yards on 21 carries in Lynden‘s 14-6 win over Sedro-Woolley last Friday.
The Lions, who have a bye this week, will take a 6-0 league record and an 8-1 overall mark into the state Class 2A Round of 16 against an opponent to be named Sunday, Nov. 7.
Heeringa and VanDalen think the Lions deserve at least the No. 2 seed.
“I think we have the potential (for a deep run at state),” Heeringa said, recalling he was in eighth grade when the Lions lost a 42-37 thriller to Hockinson for the state 2A title in 2018.
“What I love best about our team is how close we are,” he said. “How we have each other’s backs. This team is special.”
Heeringa says he is determined to give college football a shot at whatever level and school best fit his academic and athletic goals.
“He is definitely a college prospect once coaches get past his size,” VanDalen said of the 5-foot-10, 180-pound two-sport standout, who is also excels as an outfielder in baseball.
“Lane is phenomenal in the weight room,” said VanDalen, who coached Reese in football and basketball at Lynden and also knew Natasha as a student there. Both are 39 years old and met in grade school. They were high school sweethearts and married when they were 19.
“Lane is a shirt-off-his-back type of guy and he’s a leader by example,” the coach said. “He has shown us that you don’t ever want to put limitations on him.”
Natasha says that applies off the field just as much as on the field. Lane is the brother of sisters Estelle, who will soon turn 11, and Ingrid, 7.
“We lost Lane’s younger brother when he was five months old and I was 28,” Natasha said. “Lane became my 5-year-old buddy. He helped get us through it.”
Lane says both of his parents have taught him what courage really is.
“Mom is a really strong woman,” he said while talking about how she walked 12 days after the transplant. “I look up to her so much.”
Natasha underwent her transplant at the Heart Institute at the University of Washington Medical Center-Montlake. Ten days earlier, she underwent a non-invasive heart procedure known as an oblation.
“We knew I needed a transplant,” said Natasha. “My heart crashed and I flat-lined on the table (before the oblation) and we knew I was getting close (to needing a transplant to survive). I had a stroke in April and two large blood clots were removed from my brain.”
She explained that a genetic condition caused her to battle heart issues in her 30s. Now she hopes to be able to see Lane’s senior season in person along with Reese, who runs his own local trucking company.
Lane attended grade school in San Diego (twice) and Kodiak, Alaska, before the family returned to Lynden when he was in seventh grade. He couldn’t be more grateful to live in “such a supportive community.”
Spoken as a young man who knows all about providing support.
WEEK TEN
Some games were changed late in the week.
Friday’s games
Sehome at Burlington-Edison, 7 p.m.
Nooksack Valley at Cascade at Everett Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
Bellingham at Granite Falls, 7 p.m.
Meridian at Sultan, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Ferndale vs. Garfield at Seattle Memorial Stadium, 2 p.m. (State 3A Round of 32.)
Lummi at Quilcene, 1 p.m. (State 8-Man elimination game.)
Byes: Lynden and Squalicum (2A state), Mount Baker, Lynden Christian (1A state.)
Season complete: Blaine.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
