Before, a coach was considered as the gray-haired legend who packed the display cases with trophies or the soft-spoken father figure who always had time to listen. A coach may even be loved, or at least respected from a distance. When their teenagers take the plunge into high school sports, parents often expect the coach to be a surrogate parent who can motivate like Vince Lombardi, teach like Socrates, and win like John Wooden. These days, coaches are increasingly men and women who consider the job a disastrous part of their teaching duties, one that makes them feel demoralized, defeated, and desperate. Modern-day coaches are treading water, unlike their 1950s counterparts, who could almost walk upon it. And many are going under. They are even struggling to keep kids interested, parents happy, and administrators satisfied. Coaches aren't on pedestals anymore. Those have crumbled fast in recent years, as students look to MTV or the more obnoxious professional athlete for idols and the media reports more on players' touchdowns than coaches' tactics. The old role model was on a cereal box; the new one is too often getting arrested.