The Soccer Life - Jon Busch

There's been one player in the history of the team that I have related to the most. It's not because I ever played soccer professionally, nor even because I played goalkeeper (short of one season in my youth, which was nerve-wrecking for my mother). No, it's because he was born in the same year as me and we married our wives in the same year (if Wikipedia is to be believed). 

He was an "old" guy.

Of the 121 players that the Indy Eleven have signed in their history, Jon Busch is the oldest player to have ever been signed. When Jon was announced by the team in January 2016, John was 39 years, 5 months, and 4 days old. For reference, the only other players to be signed to the team after their 35th birthday were Gerrado Torrado (37 years, 1 month, 9 days) and Kim Do-Heon (36 years, 7 months, 19 days).

Yet, Jon was a leader and still not past his playing days even when his playing days ended. I believe (I know) Jon had at least one more season in him. However, Jon has continued to train young goalkeepers and pass along the lessons he has learned over the years. As a consultant, Jon routinely trains goalkeepers at all levels, including the Indy Eleven players, as Jon and Nikki have decided to make Indianapolis their home now, even after his role with Indy Eleven has ended. 

Jon also routinely helps me in understanding the business side of the sport, goalkeeper tactics, and general soccer discussions. He and I regularly engage in conversations about the state of Indy Eleven, the USL/MLS, and what he is doing to help grow the goalkeeper union. So I was glad he was finally convinced to answer my questions about The Soccer Life. 

Without further ado, here is The Soccer Life of Jon Bush.

1. Name:
- Jon Busch

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Dabbles in goalkeeping

That's an understatement.

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- Buschy (wife started calling me that many years ago)

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 6 - 7 years old

5. First recollection of the game:
- Playing youth ball with my dad and brother coaching me.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- MLS and US National Team

Jon was originally brought into the league and played for the Columbus Crew in 2002 before signing with the Chicago Fire in 2007. Jon was with the San Jose Earthquakes from 2010 to 2014, but finishing his MLS career with a season with the Chicago Fire in 2015.. 
- Jon won Supporter's Shield in 2004 during his time with Columbus, and finished as 2nd all-time in Columbus for shutouts. 

- He is currently 3rd all-time in Chicago for nearly all GK stats, but first in save percentage and 2nd in goals against average.

- With San Jose, Busch recorded a league best and franchise record 138 saves during the 2014 season, finishing as 2nd all-time in shutouts.

"Busch finishes fourth all-time in MLS history in regular-season appearances (309); fourth in minutes (27,725); third in shots faced (1,577); fourth in saves (1,151); fifth in wins (113); and fourth in shutouts (83)." - from the MLS announcement of his one-day contract with Columbus Crew where Jon officially retired from soccer on May 12, 2018 as the Crew took on one of his other former clubs, the Chicago Fire.

Jon played in the FIFA U-17 World Championships in Japan in 1993, starting all four games the team played (3 group stage + quarterfinal game), where the team finished with a 1W - 1D - 2L record. More on his full national team experience below...

7. Honors/Awards
- MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and Best 11

Both of these awards happened for Jon during the 2008 season with the Chicago Fire.

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- 2017

Jon's last competitive match (not counting the above mentioned "retirement" match) was a 2 - 2 draw with the Indy Eleven against North Carolina FC.

9. Position:
- Goalkeeper

10. Jersey number:
- 18 or 1

11. Coaching experience:
- US Youth National Teams, IUPUI Men's and Women's, and Indy Fire Juniors

In the past year, Jon has been asked to help the USMNT U-20 with Tab Ramos and the USMNT U-23 with Jason Kreis. Jon also routinely helps out with the national team youth team camps (think U-14, U-17, etc.). 

12. Refereeing experience:
- Zero

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Winning the Open Cup in Columbus.  First MLS start.  First US National Team start.

- Winning the Open Cup in Columbus - Jon won the 2002 U.S. Open Cup in a 1 - 0 win against the L.A. Galaxy.

- First MLS start - April 27, 2002, a 1 - 0 win against D.C. United. Jon came on in the 59th minute in the previous game on April 20, 2002, in a 0 - 2 loss against New England. Jon split time with Tom Presthus throughout the season. However, according to the Columbus Crew's website for the 2002 season, here are the team's results during Jon's starts:
June 12 - 2 - 1 WIN vs New England
July 13 - 3 - 1 WIN vs D.C. United
July 20 - 1 - 1 DRAW vs Colorado Rapids
July 24 - 1 - 0 WIN vs D.C. United
July 27 - 2 - 1 WIN vs L.A. Galaxy
July 31 - 3 - 2 WIN vs Metro Stars
Aug 14 - 3 - 2 WIN vs L.A. Galaxy
Aug 18 - 4 - 0 WIN vs Kansas City Wizards
Aug 31 - 0 - 0 DRAW vs New England
Sept  7 - 3 - 4 LOSS vs San Jose
Sept 14 - 2 - 0 WIN vs Chicago Fire
Sept 22 - 1 - 2 LOSS vs Chicago Fire

That's a 9 W - 2 D - 2 L record if you weren't keeping track. Then the Crew won the Open Cup game against L.A. and that's how you become the starter going into the 2003 season.

- First USMNT start - Busch's first USMNT start also took place during his only cap for the United States, when the men's nationtal team, lead by Bruce Arena, defeated Colombia 3 -0 in a friendly on March 9, 2005. 

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- Tearing my ACL twice.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Simply watching good goalkeeping at the highest level.

16. Favorite team(s)
- Liverpool ( trained there while in college)

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Peter Shilton or Shay Given

18. Favorite Current Player
- Ben Foster or Hugo Lloris

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- Hockey ( club )

22. Other Comments:
-

The Soccer Life - Owain Fôn Williams

I don't remember how many times I was in the press room with Owain, but there was at least once where a couple of questions were asked, one by me and one by Rebecca Townsend, where he was very detailed in his thought process for an on-field exchange and became very philosophical in his responses to us. Given his passion for art, it was one of those moments where I saw a glimpse of how he approaches life and the role that soccer plays in it. So before we get to Owain's responses to The Soccer Life, I thought I would pass along his entire answers to those press conference questions after a 1-1 draw to Bethlehem late in the 2018 season: 

"Being a goalkeeper in that situation, you've got to put yourself as much in the attackers mind as possible. Because at the end of the day, I don't know whether you've ever stood in goal, but it's pretty big behind you. You've got to fill the goal as much as you can. In that scenario, you've got to realize, what's the percentage. Is he going to take the shot early? In that case, you got to hold back. Or is he going to take his touch. In that moment, you got a decision to make on whether you can go close him down and go for the percentage ball with your body spread or whether you hang back and maybe make a reaction save. You hold your ground and make the save that way. Goalkeeping is all about position decision making and it's all a learning curve. So yeah. You win some, you lose some.

You know, soccer, things don't happen overnight and when something goes wrong, it's easy to change. We had a plan in place at the start of the season before all of this happened and we've tried to stick with that. Things aren't going to be perfect all the time. In any walks to life. Whether it's a game of soccer or whether it's your family or whatever it is. Things are going to happen. But if you believe in what you do and keep doing it, hopefully you'll come out the better end, rather than the worst of it. It's just, keep believing, keep working hard, stick together and we need as many people buying into this sport here in Indiana and Indianapolis. If we can get more people, get more people cheering us on, then that would be fantastic. But the gang we have here of support has been phenomenal, but if we can get more and galvanize everything, then it will be fantastic. It will be even better. And with that, as loud as they can be, if they can get louder, then that can only get better on the pitch itself. So that would be fantastic." 

Now for Owain's responses to The Soccer Life:

1. Name:
- Owain Fôn Williams

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Player

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- The Fonz, Fonners because people couldn’t pronounce my 1st name!!

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- Since walking!

5. First recollection of the game:
- My dad’s under 7 team

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- International

Owain has also played for clubs in the English Football League, as well as the Scottish Premier League, including Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who loaned him to Indy Eleven in 2018. He currently plays for Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Championship.

7. Honors/Awards
- Semifinal of UEFA Euro 2016

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Today

As has happened a few time with these surveys, by the time I post them, the person has likely played at least one more game. In this case, since Owain is still playing professionally for Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, he's played a few games, the last being a 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle. If seasons hadn't been postponed/suspended due to COVID-19, he would have played several with just four games remaining in the season. If only...

9. Position:
- Goalkeeper

10. Jersey number:
- 1

11. Coaching experience:
- Some

12. Refereeing experience:
- None

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Earning my first international cap

Owain's first international cap came in November 2015 in a friendly against the Netherlands. 

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- Relegated

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Too many to choose


16. Favorite team(s)
- I don’t have one!

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Peter Schmeichel

18. Favorite Current Player
- Gigi Buffon

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- No

22. Other Comments:
- Hope you’re well brother

Thanks Owain! You too.

The Soccer Life - Brad Ring

There are players that come to be synonymous with one team, no matter how many other teams that they played on before or after that team.

Michael Jordan - Bulls
Peyton Manning - Colts
Ken Griffey Jr. - Mariners
Landon Donovan - L.A. Galaxy

Many times those players are liked because of their on-field performances. Sometimes, though, it's not just because of what they do on the field, but rather what they do off the field and their interactions that endear themselves to fans. 

Brad Ring didn't always light up the stat sheet, but there's not a single Indy Eleven fan who will tell you that they thought that Ring didn't give his all every minute of every game he played. Then the game would end and he would go thank the fans for being there. Then he would play a little soccer with his kids on the field before heading to the locker room. Class act, through and through.

At some point, the Indy Eleven will create a Ring of Honor type award (no pun intended). There have been some great players to go through this club that could be deserving. Historically significant players. Fan favorites. Peter Wilt will be in it.

Brad Ring should be the first player. 

He means so much to the history of the team that when it looked like he might not be returning for the 2018 season, the fans nearly rioted. He (or his likeness) has been featured in 8 of the team's game day posters and nobody else is even close [#1 (May 6, 2017), #2 (August 26, 2017), #3 (October 4, 2017), #4 (March 31, 2018), #5 (April 14, 2018), #6 (May 19, 2018), #7 (October 6, 2018), #8 (May 4, 2019)]. He is one of only two players to reach the 100 games played milestone for the club and the other one is nicknamed, "Mr. Indy."

There's only one "Legend" though and these are his responses to The Soccer Life:

1. Name:
- Brad Ring

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- 9 year professional player who is currently retired.

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- "Legend". We had 1 game left in the Spring NASL season in 2016 where we needed to win by 3 goals; we did the unthinkable and won 4-1. I chugged a beer on the field seconds after the final whistle blew while celebrating.

I was going to place a GIF of the beer chug here, but that game deserves to be immortalized in Indy Eleven history as many times as possible. Brad's beer chug was captured by the live television broadcast and can be found at the 5:39 mark of the video, surrounded by fans.



4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 5

5. First recollection of the game:
- 5, AYSO with my dad coaching me. Looking forward to halftime so I could eat oranges.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- 9 year professional career

San Jose Earthquakes
2010  - 2013 (League stats)
- 37 games played
- 25 games started
- 2,381 minutes

Portland Timbers
2013 (League stats)
- 1 games played 
- 0 games started 
- 1 min

Indy Eleven
2014 - 2018 (stats across all competitions)
- 115 games played (#1 in club history) 
- 95 games started (#1 in club history) 
- 8,525 minutes (#1 in club history) 
- 4 goals 

• May 24, 2014 at New York Cosmos - 76th minute (1 - 1 draw - game tying goal)
• October 17, 2015 vs Minnesota United - 82nd minute (3 - 1 win - 3rd goal) - I believe it's also the start of the Eleven Leap.
• August 28, 2016 vs Ottawa Fury -  64th minute (1 - 1 draw - game tying goal)
• June 3, 2017 vs San Francisco Deltas - 79th minute (2 - 2 draw - Indy's 2nd. Indy gave up two late goals.)

- 2 assists 
- 28 yellow cards (Most in club history) 
- 2 red cards (6 way tie for most in club history)

7. Honors/Awards
- 2x H.S. All American, 2x Collegiate All - American at Indiana University, 17th Draft pick in the 2009 MLS Draft.

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Oct. 2018

Last game where he had minutes was with 81 minutes of action in a 2 - 3 loss at Pittsburgh Riverhounds on September 28, 2018. Brad was on the game day roster for 4 of the 5 final games of the season, but did not see minutes. 

9. Position:
- Central Defensive Midfielder

I once wrote of Brad Ring in a June 2017 game recap against NCFC: 
"Brad Ring has become a defensive midfielder from hell. That ninja kick clearance of his is a sight to behold and he just seems to have a way of keeping guys from doing what they want to do. He had 6 clearances, 3 interceptions, 2 of 2 tackles won, was 90% accurate on his passes, and was the guy who got the NCFC defense to shift to the middle by faking a shot before passing out to Speas on the cross that ultimately led to Braun's goal. With Franco and Vuko pushing forward into the offense, Ring perfectly served as the shield in front of Keller and Falvey, helping keep guys like Laing and Fondy in check." 

10. Jersey number:
- 5 at IU and 4 while with Indy Eleven

11. Coaching experience:
- IU soccer camps, personal ran soccer camps and individual training sessions, U10 coach in Santa Clara, CA

12. Refereeing experience:
- none

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Having my family on the game field after home game wins.

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- High School State Finals losses in 2003 & 2004

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
-

16. Favorite team(s):
- Indy Eleven

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Zinedine Zidane

18. Favorite Current Player:
-

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
-

22. Other Comments:
-