WHEN YOUR CHILD DOESN’T MAKE THE TEAM Being involved in sports can be great for children, but as they get older, the competition heats up. Whether your child is moving into high school and interested in playing junior varsity or wanting to play their favorite sport in a travel league, tryouts become a large part of the process. The unfortunate and simple truth about tryouts is that not everyone makes the team, which can be devastating if it happens to your child. Luckily, you can do a few things to help your child stay motivated and confident. Validate their feelings. In most cases, your child is going to be upset that they didn’t make the team. This can be even worse if they were already on the team or have friends who play for the organization. It is okay for your child to be upset, and they need to hear that from you. It can be beneficial to tell them you understand how they feel. Talk to them about the tryout. Talking with your child after the tryout is a good way for them to decompress and release any frustrations they had with the experience. Ask questions but do not dominate the conversation. It helps to ask about positive and negative aspects of the tryout so your child still remembers they had fun while playing and tried their best. Make a game plan. Getting cut from a team is not a huge ordeal. There are plenty of other teams out there your child can try out for, and lingering on the disappointment can wreak havoc on their mental health. If they’re ready to try again, find another team to try out for. If not, find somewhere your child can practice and get better, or maybe try a new sport altogether. You can also reach out to former coaches who may have an idea of what to do next. Not making a team is something almost every athlete has faced at some point, but that does not make things easier. If you take the right steps, your child can come out of this experience stronger than ever before. Handling Sports Rejection
Apple Crisp
Apple crisp and vanilla ice cream make the perfect autumn dessert, especially with freshly picked apples from Apple Hill. To dress it up, you can make individual crisps by dividing the filling and topping among six ramekins or individual gratin dishes. Our favorite apples for baking are Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Honeycrisp, but any sweet-tart apple is good for baking!
INGREDIENTS
For the filling: • 2–1/2 lb apples (about 6 medium), peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced • 2–3 tbsp granulated sugar, depending on sweetness of apples and taste preference
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour For the crisp topping: • 1 cup all-purpose flour • 5 tbsp brown sugar • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped favorite nuts (we like pecans!) • 4 oz (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
DIRECTIONS
To make the filling: 1. In a 9-inch pie pan that’s 2 inches deep (or a similar baking pan), toss the apples with the sugar to taste, cinnamon, and flour.
To make the topping: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients with your fingers or a pastry cutter until small pebbly pieces of butter are distributed throughout the mixture. Sprinkle the entire mixture over the apples. 3. Bake until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling and tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes for a large crisp and 1 hour for individual crisps. Cool slightly before serving.
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