Bradley takes part in the U.S. National Team Regional at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo via Peter Schwartz)

I almost deleted the email. Almost. 

After pulling into my driveway a few weeks ago, I heard my phone beep, indicating I had a new email in my inbox. When I looked at my screen, I saw something about Ohio and USA Football, so I figured it was just something about a clinic or something like that. Since we live in New York, I immediately thought of just deleting the email.

But something told me to just wait until I went in the house to take another look at the email and what it was about. 

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Upon further review (no football pun intended), the email was actually the golden ticket for my son Bradley. He had been selected to play in the U.S. National Team Middle School Bowl Game Series as an offensive lineman this summer in Canton, Ohio. He’ll practice with the other players who were selected and then play in the “Canton Classic” at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And I almost deleted the email! Whew!

There were tears, smiles, excitement and just utter joy, and then we repeated the process when we shared the news with Bradley and then again with family and friends. We had visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer and didn’t really expect to return there until either former New York Jets center Kevin Mawae or former Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko or both were inducted at Canton.  

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But now we have an even better reason to be back!

This all unfolded because Bradley participated in the U.S. National Team Middle School Showcase at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey this past April. I knew it was a tryout, but I did my best to frame it as a clinic to Bradley because I didn’t want him to get his hopes up. He saw some paperwork about it and said, “Dad, this is a tryout for the National Team!” At the end of the day, I was able to get him to buy into it as a clinic.

The experience that April day at the home of the Jets and Giants was terrific for Bradley. He went through a variety of drills and was able to meet youth football players and coaches from across the region. There were other events like this around the country as coaches evaluated each player to determine who was going to get picked for the Middle School Bowl Games.  

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After two practices and a six-hour day, one of the coaches handed Bradley his evaluation card for the day. It read, “Keep up the good work! Always keep your feet moving and you’ll be great.” I told Bradley that he should really be proud of himself and that we were all proud of him for what he accomplished that day. And now, two months later, we find out that my wife Sheryl, my younger son Jared and I will all have the opportunity to watch Bradley play in a game with “USA” on his jersey and helmet.

Bradley has been playing football for eight years and it has been amazing to see how he has grown on the field and how the sport has helped him grow off the field. He had a goal to be the center on his pee-wee team and was able to accomplish that. Bradley has been a part of two championship teams, two other postseason bowl victories, and last summer he participated in a New York versus New Jersey showcase game.  

The letter announcing Bradley will play in the Middle School Bowl Games Series (Photo via Peter Schwartz)

And now, in the shadows of a building that is the cathedral of football in the United States, Bradley will represent his country and wear the red, white and blue on the football field. My wife and I are so proud of Bradley and we will support him on this football journey for as long as the road will take him.  As Bradley gets ready to play for his middle school this fall, this experience in Canton is going to be great for him.

When people ask us how good of a player Bradley is, it’s sometimes hard to come up with an answer. Not wanting to be over-the-top crazy parents, we’ll usually say something like, “he’s good” or, “he loves to play and works hard at it” or, “he can really snap.” We want to be supportive, but at the same time, we don’t want to put any extra pressure on Bradley. His ability and his desire will ultimately determine how long he will play.  

To quote Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells when he was once asked by reporters about a player on his team, “Let’s not put him in Canton yet, fellas.” But the ironic thing is that we’re going back to Canton … to see Bradley play!  

And I almost deleted that email! 

Peter Schwartz is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York. His older son Bradley plays youth tackle football for the Super Bowl Champion East Meadow Rams on Long Island, while his younger son Jared plays flag football for the LSW Giants. Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field.