Olaf Growald
Parker Plaxco knew from the moment he first dribbled a soccer ball that this sport, often referred to as the beautiful game, was going to be his life. Plaxco was 3, maybe 4 when he was first introduced to the no-hands sport — around the time our brains start making memories. So, he really can’t remember wanting to do anything else.
“I loved it,” Plaxco says of playing soccer at a young age. “I still love it.”
And so far, so good — the 21-year-old Stephenville native is living his dream. Still in college, Plaxco will start his senior season playing soccer for Midwestern State this fall and, for the third summer, he’s spending his off-season playing striker (forward) for the Fort Worth Vaqueros, a summer league squad based right here in Cowtown.
The Vaqueros, a team that’s played in the Lone Star Conference of the National Premier Soccer League since 2014, often attracts college players and professionals who want to stay fresh and keep their conditioning over the summer. The team plays their home games at W.O. Barnes Stadium in River Oaks and just kicked off their 2025 season with a game against Oklahoma United FC.
Though Oklahoma United would come out on top 5-1, the Vaqueros’ lone goal was the result of a Plaxco kick to the back of the net. You see, a natural.
But it’s not as if Plaxco’s quick foray and ascension in soccer was the result of a grand plan concocted by his parents; he wasn’t the product of a soccer-crazed mom and dad. Instead, like your typical Texans, Plaxco says his parents didn’t really know anything about soccer. After all, this side of the North Atlantic and the rest of the world can’t seem to come to a consensus on what to even call the sport — though it’s difficult to argue against football being the most logical.
“[My parents] just figured [soccer] was the first sport they could put me in,” Plaxco says. “They just knew I liked to be outside and play. And T-ball and soccer are the first two sports you can do at a young age.”
And he took to it like a duck takes to water.
“They said that my first game, I scored six goals, and they never took me to a practice or anything,” Plaxco says. “So, they’re like, ‘Oh, OK. We like soccer now.’ That’s how my parents said it.”
Clearly a cut above the rest and needing better competition than the local rec leagues provided, Plaxco started playing on a club team, Quest FC, when he was 10. After the team folded when Plaxco started playing at Stephenville High School, he’d join a new club team, the Dallas Texans, and would make the four-hour trip to and from Dallas twice a week. And, yes, he did this all through high school.
To put it bluntly, he majored in soccer. And, even in college, it’s remained his main area of study.
Plaxco began his college soccer and academic career at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa before transferring to Midwestern State for his junior year, where he’s majoring in sport coaching, leadership, and administration. According to Plaxco, the major is a combination of teaching, fitness, and even coming up with coaching plans. If it wasn’t obvious before, it’s clear there’s no Plan B for Plaxco.
“I want to play [soccer] as long as I can,” Plaxco says. “I’d love to finish college and play professionally for however long, And then I’d like to get into coaching. I just don’t want to be away from the soccer field. I love it.”
By The Way
Olaf Growald
Fort Worth Vaqueras
In February, the Fort Worth Vaqueros announced the launch of a women’s team, the Fort Worth Vaqueras, who begin play this summer in the Women’s Professional Soccer League. Like the Vaqueros, their home games will also take place at W.O. Barnes Stadium.
From The Feed
1. At media day during his junior year at Midwestern State.
2. On his first team at the age of 4.
3. During his freshman year at Oral Roberts University.
4. An 8-year-old Plaxco playing a tournament.
5. Plaxco, playing for Midwestern State, posting up a defender.
6. During his sophomore year at Oral Roberts University.
7. Plaxco, at 10, playing his first year for Quest FC, his hometown club.
