A player mindset is something I have been thinking about a lot since going back to competitive pool for the first time in 12 years. When I moved to New York, life got busy and the cue stayed in its case. This year I decided to get back into it — and what I have observed at the table has reinforced one of the most important lessons I know about improvement.
One thing that is different in America is the handicap system. Similar to golf, players are ranked from A to D. A players are the strongest, D players are the newest or least experienced. When an A player faces a D player, the stronger player gives up games to level the playing field. Being new to this system, I have spent the first few months doing more than just playing. I have been watching, listening, and analysing.
A Player Mindset vs D Player Mindset: What Losing Reveals
One thing has stood out more than anything else. I love watching people’s reactions after they lose. The lower-ranked players — the D players — often spend their time explaining why they lost. They blame the roll of the balls, bad luck, how well their opponent played, or argue that the handicap was not fair. Almost everything they talk about is completely outside of their control.
The A players are different. When they lose, they rarely spend time talking about luck. Instead they ask themselves: what shot did I miss? What decision could I have made differently? How can I make sure that does not happen next time? Their focus is almost entirely on the things they can control. Watching this over the past few months has reinforced something I already believed. As long as the D players continue focusing on everything outside of their control, they will probably remain D players. The reason A players became A players is not because they are luckier. It is because they have built the habit of taking ownership, learning from mistakes, and improving one decision at a time.
What This Has to Do With Fitness
Everything. The people who achieve real results in the gym are not the ones with perfect genetics, unlimited motivation, or endless free time. They are the people who consistently focus on the controllables. According to research on habits and behaviour change, the most consistent predictor of long-term improvement is not ability — it is the practice of focusing on process over outcomes. That is the A player mindset applied to fitness.
The people who do not make progress often focus on problems. They do not have time. They are too tired. They do not know where to start. The people who succeed ask different questions. How can I make 20 minutes work today? A short workout will probably give me more energy. Who can help me find the best place to begin? Same circumstances, completely different mindset. One group searches for reasons they cannot. The other searches for ways they can. At our gym in Long Island City, the members who make the most consistent progress are almost always the ones operating from that second group.
Control What You Can Control
This does not just apply to fitness. It applies to sport, business, relationships, and life. Every day we face things we can control and things we cannot. We cannot control the weather, other people, or luck. But we can control our attitude, our preparation, our effort, our consistency, and the choices we make every single day. An A player mindset is not something you are born with. It is something you build through small, repeated decisions to focus on what is within your reach rather than what is not.
This week, pay attention to your own internal dialogue. When something does not go the way you wanted — in the gym or anywhere else — notice where your mind goes first. Are you looking for an explanation outside yourself, or are you asking what you can do differently next time? That question is the difference between staying where you are and getting better.
If you want to train somewhere that takes that mindset seriously — book a free intro call. Come and see what it looks like to be in a room full of people focused on what they can control.
Have a great week.
Seamus Keane, NASM CPT
Co-founder, The Trinity NYC
