10/1/2026
Yesterday, a friend shared with me the story of Christopher Bess, known as “Coach CB.” He became an internet sensation at just five years old for helping his father, Reggie Bess, coach a high school basketball team in North Carolina.
He wasn't pretending to be a coach for the camera. He gave players instructions, delivered locker-room pep talks, and became emotionally invested in the team's performance. His father was the actual coach, but Christopher was allowed to participate alongside him. According to his parents, they noticed his interest in coaching when he was about two. He had spent much of his young life around basketball because his father coached and his brother played.
This made me wonder: How can a five-year-old develop such a strong interest in coaching?
I don't think Christopher sat down and deliberately learned how to coach. He was immersed in it from a very young age. He watched adults coach, heard the language of basketball over and over, absorbed the emotional dynamics of a team, and was gradually given opportunities to participate.
This reminds me of what I wrote yesterday about a baby growing up bilingual. Children can acquire an astonishing amount of knowledge simply by being immersed in an environment where something is happening—whether it is a language or a sport or anything.
Some people may think Christopher has a special talent for coaching. Maybe he does. We don't know. But talent is not really the point. His early and constant exposure gave his interest a chance to develop, and his father's willingness to take that interest seriously gave him opportunities to explore it.
I'm not sure which comes first: interest or exposure. Perhaps they feed each other. Exposure can create curiosity; curiosity leads to more involvement; and more involvement can gradually reveal an ability that might otherwise remain hidden.
Christopher's story makes me think about what parents can do when children are growing up.
1. Children often discover interests through exposure.
Parents sometimes talk about children “finding their passion” as if everyone has one hidden inside them, waiting to be discovered. But how can a child know what he likes if he has never been exposed to it?
Christopher didn't simply wake up one morning and decide that basketball coaching was his passion. Basketball was already part of his everyday life. He watched, listened, participated, and gradually became interested.
Perhaps instead of asking, “What is my child's passion?” we should sometimes ask, “What opportunities have I given my child to discover what interests him?”
2. Parents can open doors without choosing the destination.
Christopher's father did not have to tell his son, “You should become a basketball coach like me.” He simply brought his son into his world and allowed him to participate.
That is a useful role for parents: expose, encourage, observe—and then let the child choose.
3. Early interest gives a child time.
If a child becomes genuinely interested in something at six, he has many years to explore it, practice it, and find out whether the interest lasts.
He may eventually move on to something completely different. That is fine, too. Exploration does not have to lead to a lifelong career to be valuable.
4. Children need adults who take their interests seriously.
Perhaps this is the most important lesson I take from Christopher's story.
When a six-year-old says, “I want to coach basketball,” an adult can say, “Okay. Show me what you can do.”
That simple response tells a child that his curiosity matters.
For me the lesson from Christopher's story goes beyond basketball. Children learn best when they are immersed in something—not simply when they are told to study it.
This is especially true of language. A child doesn't need to begin by memorizing vocabulary lists or studying grammar rules. Let the child hear the language, listen to songs, talk with people, read stories, and use it in everyday life. Soak the child in the language. The more naturally the language becomes part of daily life, the more naturally the child can learn it.
The same may be true of many other interests. Give children an environment rich in possibilities, let them watch and participate, and pay attention to what draws them in.
