School athletic coaches have the potential to reach the youngsters placed in their charge as few other authority figures can. Embodying the quest for excellence, getting behind a student's aspirations for competition and improvement, a coach can sometimes turn around a life headed in the wrong direction. Richmond, California's Coach Carter, celebrated in a movie of the same name starring Samuel L. Jackson is one such shining example. At the college level, Coach Joe Paterno of Penn State is another. Most great coaches never receive appreciation beyond their home communities, but they make a difference in the lives of their charges. But there is a downside. At the very bottom are those few coaches who exploit those entrusted to them for sexual gratification. Molestation of an underage child is always a serious crime. But when the authority and trust of a coach is used to exploit a child, an even worse crime has been committed. All of which makes it very hard to understand why, as...(Read Full Post)