This week on CoachCraft, I sat down with Paul Barry — a UEFA A licensed coach developer and Head of Coaching for the Foundation Phase at Crystal Palace FC. And he’s not just a coach. Paul is also a children’s book author and writes about growth mindset and emotional resilience. We covered a lot of ground: what development really looks like at the elite foundation phase, why coaches need to stop judging players by outcomes, and how the principles that shape world-class academies apply just as much to a Wednesday evening session at your local club.

Paul opened with something I keep coming back to. He was talking about how coaches respond when a young player attempts something ambitious — a long diagonal pass, say — and it goes astray.

Most of us react to the outcome. The wayward ball. The lost possession. But Paul asks a different question: was the decision right?

"If you see the decision being a positive one," he said, "even if the outcome was maybe not quite executed right — it might be a physical limitation, or the timing wasn't quite right — but you saw the intention being positive. You know there's something there to work with. So encourage it, praise it. Then the kid knows what they tried was right."

This is deceptively simple. But think about how often we, as coaches and as parents on the touchline, groan at a bad pass instead of asking: did they see the play? Did they have the right idea, even if their body wasn’t quite able to execute as intended? Paul argues that praising the right decision, separate from the outcome, is exactly what builds long-term game intelligence.

Paul also challenged how we measure success, and not just at the foundation phase. Winning, for him, might mean a young player who's been moved up to train with an older age group because that's the right stretch for their development. Even if that player's team loses at the weekend, Paul calls it a win.

"The outcome at the weekend as a gauge of success from what you've worked on in the week," he said. "I always think about how we reframe what winning looks like."
He talked about mini wins: a session where the kids were fully engaged, a moment when something finally clicked, a coach who noticed they were speaking too much and adjusted. These are the things worth measuring at the foundation phase.

This has direct implications for every grassroots coach. How you define winning — out loud, to your players, to parents on the sideline — sets the entire culture of your team.

What I love about conversations with coaches like Paul is the reminder that the principles at the elite level and the grassroots aren't as different as we think. Crystal Palace's foundation phase isn't built on secrets. It's built on giving young players the space and safety to try things, make decisions, and develop — with a coach who responds to the attempt, not just the result.

Paul's work with children's books on growth mindset and resilience reflects the same philosophy. Before a young player can take risks on the field, they need to feel safe doing so. That starts with the coach in front of them.

I’m excited to be involved in developing this new platform for youth coaches launching this Spring. For any youth-focused club today, player care and wellbeing must come first. That means clear values, strong organisation, and a real investment in coach recruitment and training. It also means being able to show parents — simply and confidently — that their child’s development, confidence, and happiness are central to how the club defines “a winning season.”
CoachFives.com