It was not the typical youth football Sunday in the Schwartz household.

My son Bradley’s team, the Levittown Red Devils, hosted Freeport here on Long Island. However, for the first time in his seven years, Bradley did not play in his scheduled football game. His left wrist had been bothering him on and off at times this season, but he was able to play in last week’s game.

We decided to get it checked out just to be safe.

The news was not what Bradley wanted as doctor’s diagnosed him with a ‘buckle fracture’, which will force him to wear a cast for at least two weeks. Needless to say, Bradley flipped out when he received the news. He loves playing football and couldn’t understand why he had to sit out for a couple of games. 

“I was able to play last week!” implored Bradley.  “I snap with my right hand.  I want to play!”

The doctor said there was no way that he could play.

The choice was two weeks in a hard cast or six weeks in a soft cast.  Either way, Bradley was out until the wrist heals so he deiced for the fast option and hard cast it was.  He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew deep down that it was the right decision.  Ultimately, we tried to console him and let him know that it could have been much worse.  The injury could have been more severe and season ending. With the hard cast, Bradley should be back in time for the playoffs.

On the way home from the doctor’s office, we stopped to break the news to Bradley’s coach in person. Bradley was a bit hesitant because he wasn’t quite sure how Coach Chris was going to react. The coach told Bradley not to worry and that he’ll be back in no time. 

The coach even asked Bradley to serve as a team captain for Sunday’s game, which would involve him going out for the coin toss. After a few hours of being miserable, Bradley finally cracked a smile. He thanked the coach, who also reminded Bradley that he’s still part of the team and had work to do while out of action. 

For any youth player who has to miss time with an injury, there are still responsibilities that need to be fulfilled before making a return.

Take care of the injury. There’s isn’t a football player on the planet that is happy being injured. Accordingly, following the doctor’s orders is necessary to get back on the field as quickly as possible. Don’t do anything that can exacerbate the injury, be smart with any activities and don’t feel tempted to join friends doing activities that don’t make sense. Make sure you stick to any rehab or exercise that is prescribed by your doctor and work hard to get back on the field.

Don’t just sit around and do nothing.  While his wrist heals, Bradley is still going to games and supporting his teammates. He’ll continue to attend practices so the coaches can have him do exercises that keep him in shape. Bradley’s injury is short-term, but even if a child’s injury is long-term, he or she should stay around the team as much as possible.

Help out your teammates. Since Bradley is the starting center on his team, he has a vested interest in the offensive line sticking together during his absence. During Friday’s final practice, Bradley talked with the teammate that would fill in for him and provided some pointers. This was especially important since Bradley was familiar with nose tackle his teammate would compete against. Bradley huddled with teammates even though he was not an active practice participant.

During the game on Sunday, he spent time on the sidelines with his coaches and brought water to his teammates during timeouts. He talking with coaches and teammates throughout the game, but there was a point where I could sense he was annoyed that he was not playing.

When he’s playing, he always has a football in his hands while the defense is on the field. This way the offense is ready to immediately run out onto the field when they get the ball back.  During the second half of Sunday’s game, there was a moment when Bradley grabbed a ball and held it over his head while watching the game.

It was tough for my wife and me to watch Bradley on the sideline Sunday, especially knowing how much he loves football. But we’re proud of him, especially because he is doing whatever is asked of him and being a good teammate. He’ll probably have some up and down mood swings over the next couple of weeks, but Bradley can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I almost feel bad for the defensive lineman that Bradley faces when he returns to action. Bradley will be ready to compete because he is doing the things he needs to do while he is injured. He’s following orders, working out with his team and helping his teammates.

Bradley’s a football player.  He’ll be just fine.

Peter Schwartz is an anchor and reporter for the CBS Sports Radio Network. He also writes a CBS New York sports blog at http://newyork.cbslocal.com/tag/peter-schwartz/. You can follow him on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. Peter’s son Bradley plays for the Levittown Red Devils of the Nassau Suffolk Football League on Long Island in New York. His son Jared cheers on Bradley and then Bradley returns the favor when Jared is playing soccer.