I'm convinced that Fickell will win at Wisconsin.
I don't agree with the writer that the Gophers are on an "upward trajectory." They're generally holding steady and neither improving nor declining. Eventually we'll have to deviate from this middle-of-the-pack trajectory.
Your sarcasm is pointless. It sounds like your kids are doing great, congratulations.
Like most parents, I want my kids to do great for themselves in the end, and also make fewer mistakes and hurt fewer people along the way.
On one hand, I'm sure that's true, to some degree. I am a realist.
But on the other hand, what I said is 100% true. Kids will live down to whatever standards you set for them. So set them high.
Very few kids behave better than their parents expect. So why set low expectations?
Realistically, you're the biggest influence on what your kids will think is normal. If you expect them to drink underage or commit minor crimes, they will know it and you can be 99% sure they'll do it. But if...
People have really different attitudes about character. If one of my kids was caught drinking underage and using a fake ID, that would be a major character issue for me. So I think it's a major issue when it involves a team leader, too.
We might quibble over the language. Maybe 'adequate' is more apt than 'solid,' or maybe his athleticism is still developing, or has yet to be demonstrated. In any case, I won't knock the positive press.