Corben Bone has played professionally for 10 years and, at 32, already passed an age conventional wisdom might consider his peak. But Louisville City FC Head Coach John Hackworth sees Bone in the type of place where better soccer is still in front of him.
That’s in part because the midfielder can exist in two places at once.
As LouCity begins preseason training this week, Bone will resume his daily commute from Cincinnati to Louisville, balancing his personal life as a husband and father of two with his day job as a USL Championship power’s second-leading scorer.
“It’s worked out great,” Bone said. “As I’ve gotten older and put years into my career, I’ve discovered life outside of football definitely affects how you play — your rhythm on the field. With my family, life has been good, and I’ve found a little confidence on the field as a result.”
Bone, who saw FC Cincinnati through its transition to Major League Soccer, made 2020 his first season in purple while reuniting with Hackworth, who he also played under with the Philadelphia Union earlier in their careers.
So began the hour-and-a-half journeys to and from Louisville. Back home in Cincinnati, Bone’s wife, Annie, is a successful tattoo artist. The couple is also raising son Brooks (3) and daughter Rooney (1), who Bone still gets to see on a daily basis.
“After a career going all across the American soccer landscape, I feel like Corben’s finally at a place where he’s very satisfied with his personal and professional life,” Hackworth said. “He’s extremely confident. Last year, you could tell he enjoyed what we did and how we do it. I’ve always thought that if you have players who like their environment, there’s a correlation to how many games you win. Corben epitomizes that.
“He’s playing the best soccer of his career, and we still think there’s room for improvement.”
Bone, who appeared in 18 of 19 games last year, began to reach that potential in August as the boys in purple ramped up a 13-game unbeaten streak carrying them to the USL’s Eastern Conference Final.
On Aug. 19, he scored his first two LouCity goals in a 4-1 rout of Sporting KC II, ending a frustrating restart to a season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sept. 6, Bone’s rebound goal against Indy Eleven wound up the game winner in a crucial meeting of teams atop the group table. And in the opening round of the playoffs, Bone pulled a shot from distance that served as his season highlight once the ball caromed off the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC goalkeeper and spun into the net to cap a 2-0 victory.
Bone tallied six goals in all across 2020 and led LouCity with 41 chances created, nearly doubling the next player on the list. It helps in that regard to complete just a tick short of 90% of passes in opponents’ half of the field.
“You’d see him not get the goal or assists right after our restart,” Hackworth said. “We kept with it, and suddenly he started producing both.”
“At the beginning of the year I thought I was playing OK but knew I had more to give,” Bone added. “As the season went on, I was finding my gear and partnerships within the team and produced, helping the team win. That was a great feeling, and once you get that sense, you feed off it. With us keeping almost the same team and core group together, I think that will help me push even further and be comfortable in challenging myself to contribute more.”
That mindset has Bone looking forward again to his daily trips, which he splits up with a combination of news (mainly NPR’s Up First), podcast (he considers Dax Sheppard’s Armchair Expert a favorite) and, finally, music.
“I’m really happy to drive an hour and a half every day to Louisville, see the smiling faces and get out on the field with the group we have,” Bone said. “I never question whether it’s worth it because I’m going to enjoy the destination.”
