Skip to content

White Rock Titan heads back south

71343web-alexlane

SURREY — This week, Alex Lane will be packing his life away and moving back to the U.S. after accepting a football scholarship at Hastings College in Nebraska.

The former White Rock Titan made his decision in April after turning down a chance to play for the UBC Thunderbirds and head back to the country where he was born.Lane's brother is currently a pre-med student at Hastings and showed football recruiters his tape.

"I just felt like Hastings would be a better fit because the U.S. takes collegiate sports kind of more seriously," said Lane.

Training camp for the Broncos starts this week along with Lane's introduction to Hastings, Nebraska as a university student.He has been there once before to visit his brother and said that it is a university town.

In 2010, Lane and his father moved from Salina, Kansas to the South Surrey area after his father - White Rock blues musician Jimmy D. Lane - married a Canadian woman.

Lane prefers to play on offense and was a receiver, running back and a return man forthe Titans.

John Martins, the head coach of the White Rock Titans said that Lane was a leader on and off of the field for his team.

"When you're in a game and you gotta go to a guy, he was it. We designed our offense around him, to get him as many touches as possible," Martins said.

Even though he's only five feet nine inches tall, his coach believes that he has the workethic to play for the Broncos.

"You can be an athlete and be lazy," Martins said.

"He's not that way one bit. He works hard every time. He'll make a coach's decision hard not to play him. When you're looking for a guy who's going to give it all he's got, he's that guy," said Martins.

In April, the Semiahmoo Secondary graduate received instructions from his new coach at Hastings to start an individual workout routine.

For the program, Lane has been training with CFL players like Will Loftus and Ryan Lucas at Game Ready Fitness in Cloverdale.

"He's always working at getting better on his skills. He'll sit and work with anybody for him to get better and help them get better," Martins said.

"The bar is definitely raised and you get a lot of competition," said Lane.

"They motivate you pretty well. They just try to make you better."

But Lane's coach knows that he brought more than skill to the team.

He was a role model for his teammates as well as the Titan's younger teams.

"If I asked him to come and help the younger ages, he would.Even now, he's out practicing with us and he's helping our guys get ready for this year," said Martins.

"He's one of those kids you want to have on a team. Never mind athletic ability, but you want guys like that on the team."

Martins said that the Broncos' are lucky to have a playmaker like Lane and that the entire Titans organization is proud of what he has accomplished.

"If I could have a team of Alex Lanes, I don't care how tall or short they are, we're going to do well."

"He's one of those guys that you will remember for more than his play," Martins said.

In the first game of the upcoming National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) football season, the Hastings Broncos will be traveling to Salina, Kansas - Lane's old town - to play against Kansas Wesleyan University.

Lane is expecting to have quite the homecoming for that game.

kyle.benning@gmail.com