Meet Creekside lacrosse player, angler Magnus Laster
ST. JOHNS, Fla. — Magnus Laster is a 16-year-old sophomore at Creekside High School. If you don’t see him on a Lacrosse Field you’ll find Magnus somewhere perfecting his fishing skills. Magnus has two passions, fishing and Lacrosse. You’ll never hear him bragging about himself, but those that know him, know that he is the guy that will give his all to everything. He is an honor roll student with a rigorous academic schedule, a member of the National Spanish Honor Society, involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and plays on the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team. Despite his busy schedule, Magnus finds time to volunteer while also working as a referee for youth sports on Saturdays.
In seventh grade, Magnus was invited to try recreational Creeks Lacrosse by a friend who gave him his old equipment. Magnus said, “I liked it right away, but then the season was cut short after the second game due to Covid.” During quarantine, he practiced his stick skills in their backyard as his coach had challenged them to maintain their stick skills by doing throwing drills. During that time he logged more than 10,000 repetitions of throwing a ball against a rebounder in a matter of weeks. To some that may seem like overkill but he said “I liked having something to focus on besides the pandemic.” Once the lockdown was lifted he continued to play with Creeks Lacrosse until in the eighth grade, when he began playing club lacrosse with First Coast Crush. In his freshman year at Creekside High School, he played on the JV squad then as a sophomore he earned a spot on the varsity team. Magnus says, “I like lacrosse because it combines aspects of several different sports that I’ve played before, including basketball, football, and soccer. I enjoy the speed, the physicality, the challenge and the history of the sport.”
Magnus’s second passion was inherited from his maternal grandfather, a love for angling. Magnus’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were also avid fishermen so it obviously runs deep through their family bloodline. Magnus’s grandfather helped him catch his first fish in North Carolina when he was just five years old, which later led to him supplying Magnus with his own fishing gear. Magnus developed his angling skills on summer fishing trips to his grandfather’s cottage on the French River in Canada. Magnus said “My passion for fishing really took off during the pandemic. I couldn’t attend school in person, I couldn’t hang out with friends and sports were stopped. My parents said I needed to spend time outside. So, I grabbed my rod, my tackle box and my bike and rode around to the fishing holes in my neighborhood. That’s when I really got hooked.” People often ask Magnus what he likes about fishing, his response is, “Fishing allows me to forget about whatever stressful things are going on and just have fun. Between school, sports and society, there’s so much pressure. I can escape all of that when I’m on the water with a rod in my hand. I’m so grateful for what fishing has taught me, It is so much about patience, perseverance, an appreciation for solitude and a respect for nature.”
Magnus has begun sharing his passion for fishing through social media. He has a YouTube Channel called Goldylocks Fishing; the name was inspired by a middle school teacher who nicknamed him Goldylocks due to his curly, blond hair. “I’m kinda known for my hair, and I want to be known for my fishing, so putting the two together made sense for now.” Magnus taught himself how to use editing software so that he could shoot and edit his own videos for his channel. “Creating content for my channel is an outlet for me. It lets me share my creative side while documenting my fishing journey. Now when I fish, I pay attention to lighting, sounds, angles and the story I want to tell.”
I think it’s important we continue to encourage our youth to get outside and enjoy life, all while helping them find their own ways to deal with the stressors of school and the world, by learning new skills to balance school, sports and fun.
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