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"Coach Wittenberg" is an episode of Hey Arnold!.

Synopsis[]

Arnold and his bowling team, Gerald, Harold, Eugene and Rhonda are thinking about entering the bowling tournament and look for a coach. Then Arnold and Gerald find Coach Wittenberg working as a cleaner in the bowling alley restroom. Now it's up to Arnold to teach Wittenberg how to coach them like a team since all he did was yell at them and always asked them to do pushups.

Plot[]

Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda, Harold and Eugene are in a bind: the team can't compete in the upcoming bowling tournament without an adult coach. Fortunately, Arnold spots Coach Wittenberg working at the bowling alley as a janitor. Apparently, Wittenberg was fired from his basketball coaching gig at the YMAA due to parents' complaints of his tough coaching style, leaving the former coach jobless and out of the house once his wife Tish found out he lost another coaching job for the fourth time of the year. Gerald disagrees with Arnold's plan to recruit him as the new coach, considering what happened the last time he was their coach. However, Arnold says that they need him to compete in the tournament, and Coach Wittenberg needs them to get life back on track.

Once Wittenberg takes over, he starts punishing the kids over simple mistakes with making them drop and do push-ups. He even snaps at the team once Arnold finally hits one pin. Obviously, the team agrees that Coach Wittenberg has got to go, or they will drop out of tournament. Arnold promises that he'll talk with Coach to lighten up. Arnold then shows up to Coach's apartment, who is certain he will lose another coaching job. Arnold assures him that this is not the case, but he tells Coach that he needs to start changing his coaching philosophy in order to not discourage the others. Coach agrees to implement "Psy-cho-cology" into his philosophy starting tomorrow.

During training, right before he starts to punish Eugene, he pulls off and tells Eugene to think of the pins as his favorite vegetable: "Strained Beets." Surprisingly, it actually works. He then encourages Rhonda to bowl properly after showing her a Pre-Teen magazine highlighting celebrities who love to bowl. Suddenly, the team's chances of winning the tournament increases as everyone starts hitting strike after strike and having fun.

After a pre-game huddle, Helga's team is shown to coached by Tish, whose presence starts to pressure Coach Wittenberg. During the game, he starts to worry that his team will surely lose and starts to revert to his old ways. Arnold intervenes, saying that their goal was to win, and he has proven to be a good coach by treating the team as individuals getting better and better. After listening, Coach Wittenberg admits his faults and learns what it really means to be a good coach. He then assures Eugene not to take the game too seriously and just think about "Strained Beets." This gives Eugene enough encouragement to clear the 6-7 split, narrowly winning the tournament. The team praises Coach Wittenberg for helping them win, to which he returns the affection as his wife smiles.

Later at night, Coach Wittenberg drives up to a restaurant where he meets his wife and the two reunite once again.

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