Phil Friend

phillip.friend@indystar.com

Miami FC at Indy Eleven, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, WISH-8

INDIANAPOLIS — When the phone rang at 6 every Sunday night, Jon Busch knew exactly who was on the other end.

Whether he was out with family, being social with friends and teammates or making dinner, the man Busch called "Pops" wasn’t going to break routine.

It was one of two phone calls Pops would make to Busch each weekend. The first would come Saturday night after a game, leaving a voicemail on Jon’s phone before he even left the locker room.

That was always followed a day later by that dinner-time call. For eight years, those Sunday conversations were a part of the Indy Eleven goalkeeper’s life.

“When you’re younger, you think you’re going to live forever and your parents are going to live forever,” said Busch, who turned 40 this season. “You’re a young kid and you’re selfish. As you get older, you really realize the value of your parents and we bonded and came back together. It was just a natural thing; we just started talking about soccer, about life, about everything.”

The conversations came about in 2008 shortly after Busch left Major League Soccer's Columbus for Chicago. His wife stayed behind while Busch lived in a studio apartment, with no one at his place with which to to converse.

But this May, those calls from Pops came to an end. Busch had his usual Sunday conversation with his dad May 8, six days before the Eleven’s game against Fort Lauderdale. But on Wednesday, Robert Busch died after battling health issues for a couple of years.

Given as much time as needed by the Eleven coaching staff, Jon needed only one day away before coming back to Indy to train.

“He loved watching me play. If I didn’t train or play, I knew it’d be me disrespecting him and not honoring him the best way I could," Busch said. "There was no time that I ever thought I wasn’t going to play that weekend.”

And Busch did what he’s done numerous times in his career (including the fourth-most in MLS history): He recorded a shutout as Indy played the Strikers to a scoreless draw.

“There was one point, about 15 minutes left in the game, I made a point-blank save. I kind of looked up to the sky and said to him, 'You got me tonight.' He had my back and they weren’t going to score no matter what they threw at me," Busch said.

“Afterward, there was a moment I had to walk out of the locker room and ended up taking a walk by myself for a few minutes just to get my head right again. He was an unbelievable man. He lived a great life, he was a Lutheran pastor and as we say in our family, it was his time to go. And now he’s got the best seat in the house to finish my career.”

Too short

The first thing that stands out when you meet Busch is his size. He’s listed at 5-10, but that may be generous. He’s not a stocky guy, either. Busch looks more like a skateboarder than professional goalkeeper.

“It’s more with reading the play instead of the physical size," Busch said. "I’ve got to read the play and attack balls. That’s been the same story since I was 13, 14, 15 years old.”

Busch may be undersized, but his talent was obvious as a high schooler. He played his prep career in New York but also trained at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. It was there where he caught the eye of one particular coach: Tim Hankinson, the Eleven’s current coach.

“A lot of times, guys in high school, they don’t quite get it,” Hankinson said. “His commitment to intensely training every day, to take every ball seriously, to take every exercise to the max, you could see those qualities back then when he trained with senior goalkeepers.”

But there have been doubters. After a stellar college career at UNC Charlotte, Busch worked his way through smaller clubs, playing with four teams in the lower levels of U.S. soccer before a standout year with Hershey in U.S. Soccer's second tier caught the attention of the Columbus Crew, and he was taken 23rd overall in the 2002 MLS Superdraft.

Playing time was spotty in Columbus thanks to injuries — Busch started 84 matches in five seasons.

Busch found his stride in 2007-09. Waived by Columbus, he was traded by Toronto to the Chicago Fire and had a career year in 2008. He was the team's MVP and the only player to play all 2,700 minutes in the regular season en route to winning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

Indy Eleven overhauls lineup, raise expectations

Indy arrival

Busch's previous relationship with Hankinson certainly helped in bringing him to Indy for the 2016 season, but a former teammate in San Jose — defensive midfielder Brad Ring, who was his roommate on the road — also helped engineer the move. Ring connected Busch with assistant coach Tim Regan and got the ball rolling.

"I knew he'd be a good fit for us, something we had lacked in the past couple years," Ring said. "He's an accomplished goalkeeper ... He's helped solidify our defense, which has been our strong suit."

For Hankinson, it was about bringing a strong leader into the locker room.

"If the character in your leaders is strong as steel, then you're going to weather those (bad) moments and everyone's going to stay in a good direction, a good mentality and you're going to break through. His leadership and his voice have been instrumental, without question."

Now and the future

This is Busch’s first season outside of MLS since 2001. But Busch, along with Colin Falvey, have helped solidify the Eleven into a bona fide contender for the North American Soccer League title. Indy already won the spring championship and will play in The Championship, a four-team playoff, in November.

Part of Busch’s agreement to sign with the Eleven included the opportunity to coach. Along with being the first-choice netminder, he’s also the team’s director of goalkeeping, training younger keepers on the NPSL team while also involved in the scouting process.

“I enjoy talking goalkeeping. I enjoy watching videos," he said. "I watch the goalkeepers we’re playing against, see if I can pick up little things to help our forwards, looking at goalkeepers in the USL and college, and putting scouting reports together about possible goalkeepers for the future.”

Busch has been a professional for nearly 20 years, which includes a couple of call-ups to the U.S. National Team and one cap, playing all 90 minutes in a 3-0 friendly win over Colombia in 2005.

Busch also has plenty of off-field endeavors, including Saves for SEALs, which he started five years ago while playing in San Jose. The foundation has raised more than $500,000, with that money going directly to the Navy SEAL Foundation.

"You don't want recognition; the soldiers don't want recognition. You thank them and remember them. That's all you care about," Busch said. "It's my way to give back to the families. I've been fortunate to be a professional for as many years as I have because of these warriors who are willing to sacrifice their lives for our freedom."

With Saves, his own goalkeeping equipment company and coaching in his future, there's no doubt "Buschy" will stay very active when his playing days are over. When will that be, exactly?

"At the end of the season, Hank, Regan and I will sit down and figure it out," Busch said. "Physically, I feel great. Mentally, I feel good. I'm always up for a challenge. I don't know if it's at the end of the season or if there's one more ... My main focus is playing every day and trying to win a championship for this club."