The journey begins in August in the summer heat of training camp. As the kids gather for their first practice, the message is the same each year. The objective is to have fun, get better every day, and if all goes well, you can compete for a championship.  Sometimes, it might be hard for an 11- or 12-year-old child to buy into a message from August that is supposed to have an impact on what happens in November.

But my son Bradley’s team is living proof that if you work hard, listen to the coaches, and trust your teammates, the ultimate goal can be more than just a message. It can become reality!

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And that’s what happened Sunday when Bradley and his teammates won their league’s “Super Bowl” with a 28-7 victory. As I was watching the game, I kept thinking about the road the kids, coaches, and parents traveled just to get to this point. It was certainly an emotional roller coaster for everyone, but in the end the message, that was delivered Aug. 1 came to fruition Nov 19. 

It takes a remarkable commitment from everyone to get through a youth football season, and for these kids to cap off their season by hoisting a championship trophy makes all the efforts of the entire adventure worthwhile. That’s not to say the season would have been a failure if they didn’t win, or even if they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. The most important thing about youth football is learning the proper fundamentals and being prepared for the next level, which is playing in school. 

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But to see the smiles on everyone’s faces on Sunday was priceless.  

It was a long season with some hot days during camp, hard-fought victories, and some disappointing losses. There were good practices and bad practices and even some practices that didn’t take place because Mother Nature wouldn’t allow it. The season was filled with some great individual efforts, textbook teamwork, the typical equipment issues, and the incredible amount of time and effort the coaches put forth.

Just like at any level of football, teams change from year to year. In youth football, players move up, stay at the same level, or some might move on to play in school. For Bradley and his teammates, Sunday’s win in the Super Bowl is the last time, unless they’re invited to play in a local Turkey Bowl, that this particular group will be on the field together. 

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They all took part in the journey together, enjoyed some good times, made their way through adversity, and became champions. In January, the kids and the coaches will reunite at the program’s annual end-of-season trophy event. At that time, they’ll reminisce about their accomplishments, have some laughs, enjoy a nice meal, pick up their individual trophies, and hoist that big piece of hardware one more time.

For Bradley, this win was particularly sweet. He also won a Super Bowl in his first year at the pee-wee level, but it was a five-year wait to experience that feeling again. There were some heartbreaking endings during that span, including a controversial loss in the conference championship game three seasons ago. He was so dejected that day, but I remember his uncle being at the game and telling him that his day will come.

On a windy and cold afternoon on a turf field in a park off the water on Long Island, that day came for Bradley and his teammates Sunday. They didn’t need a championship to validate their efforts all season, but it certainly was a pretty cool way to finish off the year!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Peter Schwartz is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network and WCBS 880 Radio in New York.  His older son, Bradley, plays youth football on Long Island while his younger son, Jared, plays flag football. Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.