- November 4, 2024
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Margo Parson, the mother of Matanzas lacrosse player Gunner Parson, used her phone to record her son scoring one of his three goals in the Pirates’ 15-5 win over Pedro Menendez on March 17. But what he did after the shot really touched her.
“Gunner made an amazing goal and pointed upwards, and Clay looked at me and said, ‘You know who he’s pointing at, right?’” she said. “I said, ‘Yeah, he’s pointing at Bryce.’”
Margo Parson had four sons, James, Bryce, Gunner and Clay, in that order. The boys grew up in Ormond Beach, but every summer they would go to Camp Sea Gull in Arapahoe, North Carolina, a sailing camp designed to build character and discipline for kids.
“The boys loved it so much they made a pact that they would continue to go as long as they possibly could,” Margo Parson said. “As I drove away the first time, I remember seeing Gunner standing and watching two boys throw the ball with lacrosse sticks. I knew he was going to mail me before I got home to buy him some gear, and that’s how he fell in love with the sport.”
When Gunner and brothers returned home, their mother signed them up to play with Steve Noble and the Lizards, and that’s where Gunner Parson learned how to play.
While the boys continued to grow closer with every summer trip and time spent together playing sports, tragedy struck when Bryce Parson died four years ago. Gunner Parson was just 13 years old.
“Losing Bryce changed all of us a good bit,” Margo Parson said. “It was tough for the boys to lose their brother at such a young age.”
“It made me look at things a lot differently,” Gunner Parson added.
In the wake of losing their brother, Gunner, James and Clay’s bond grew even closer. Gunner refers to his brothers as his best friends. They are the ones he does the most things with. They support each other at as many events as possible, whether they are attending Gunner’s lacrosse games, or if he’s at their soccer matches.
“We always have each other’s backs, no matter what it is,” Gunner Parson said.
The boys have continued to make good on their pact, going back to Camp Sea Gull, Bryce’s favorite place on earth, according to his mother, where Gunner Parson will be a counselor this summer. There, he always celebrates his brother’s life by hopping on a boat and sailing the ocean every day.
“That was Bryce’s favorite thing to do up there,” he said. “Every time I saw him at camp, he was just getting off a boat; you couldn’t keep him off them.”
Gunner Parson moved to Palm Coast to play lacrosse, because it’s not a school sport in Volusia County, and since joining the Pirates at Matanzas, he’s formed friendships with another group he calls brothers.
“Most of the guys are returning players, so we are a strong bonded team and coaches,” he said. When asked about scoring, Gunner Parson said it felt great, but assisting his other teammates on scores felt even better.
