On Sept. 4, a Frisco teen made his debut for the first team of Portuguese Second Division side Varzim S.C.

Keaton Parks was substituted on in the 83rd minute in a defeat, but the North Texas native has shown that academy soccer is not required for success. The center-mid played at Frisco Liberty for 3 years, helping the team appear in a regional final in his junior year. Along with high school soccer, Parks played club soccer at a local Liverpool of America team.

Parks’ arrival in Portugal was due to the help of his club coach, who helped the teen obtain trials in the foreign country.

“My club coach used to play professionally in Portugal,” Parks said. “He has a lot of friends on the teams here. The first summer I came here I trained with multiple teams. We met an agent, and he liked us. He helped us get more trials at Benfica, Braga and Sporting Lisbon. Later on in the summer, we came back and played in the Varzim tournament with the Liverpool Warriors, a NPSL side. The club watched us play and liked me from that tournament, and then approached our agent and then I signed for the team in the summer.”

Parks had an offer to play for Southern Methodist University, but when the opportunity of going pro arose, he was forced with a tough decision to make; stay near to home and go to college or to go abroad and become a professional.

Parks introduction at Varzim (Varzim SC)

“In my parent’s and coach's’ minds, they thought it was an easy choice to choose professional soccer over college,” Parks said. “Sometimes I would think it was an easy choice too. But some days, I would think hard about all college has to offer. I was scared to come [to Portugal]. It was a whole new country, I don’t speak the language and it was a whole different life. I wasn’t sure at the time, and I was really contemplating between staying home and going overseas. Now that I made the choice, it is way better than going to play college soccer.”

The transition from graduating early, to training in Portugal was quite a culture shock for the Plano native.

“When I first came here, I was missing my friends and family right away,” Parks said. “The first month, I missed everyone. I was thinking ‘I don’t want to be here’ at the time. Now, it’s completely different. Time flies by. I love the lifestyle here and being able to play soccer all the time. I’d much rather be here than college.”

Now with a few months under his belt, Parks is slowly adjusting to the lifestyle change that comes with moving to a country like Portugal.

“It’d be easier to learn the language if I studied,” Parks said. “When I first came here, I studied a little bit. But since then, I’ve been trying to learn by talking and listening to people here. I know a little bit now.”

For Parks, the debut was the first step for his European career.

“When I got out there, I began to think that this is just a normal game,” Parks said. “I’ve done this my whole life. I just played how I normally played.”

Parks credits his family and coaches for his success in his soccer career.

“They’ve given me everything I have,” Parks said.

Parks is hoping for more appearances on the year and promotion for his squad to the First Division, where he would have the chance to play against the likes of Benfica and Porto.

“I want as much playing time as they give me,” Parks said. “I want our team to get promoted if we can and make a run deep into the cup.”