The inability to effectively deal with stress-raising factors is harmful to athletes’ performance and success ( Campen & Roberts, 2001; Skinner et al, 2003; Pensgaard and Roberts, 2003) . Athletes can cope with these factors. Coping is a conscious effort to encounter stressraising factors ( Stone et al, 1992). According to Roth, Cohen, and Krohne, there are two approaches to cope with stress; approached coping and avoidant coping. In addition, Folkman and Lazarus (1980) suggest problem- focused and emotional-focused copings ( Besharat, 2006; Feiz et al, 2001). Avoidant behavior is more effective than approached in coping with severe stress which happens in sports competitions ( Behsarat, 2003). There is a significant relationship between the method of approached coping with improper anxiety and the worsening of performance ( Krohne & Hindel, 1988). Based on Rice, Sheridan and Radmacher (1992), emotional-focused strategy may temporarily decrease strain, but it causes physical and psychological problems in the long term ( Feiz et al, 2001). Mental toughness has a multidimensional structure and all individuals have some dimension of it ( Kosaka, 1996). Tough people pay more attention to effort, perseverance and action than luck ( Shokrkon, 1994). Evaluation of mental traits of Olympic champions showed that mental toughness can play a significant role in improving athletic performance ( Narimani et al, 2004 ). The findings prove that elite athletes are tougher than novice (Hatton & Evans, 2002 ), and also indicate that non-tough individuals use the emotional-focused more than tough individuals ( Feiz et al, 2001). Soccer and futsal are a kind of sport with share many performance similarities. Such similarities made us carry out a research studying a number of mental variables such as coping methods and mental toughness which impact the performance of the athletes in these two sports.
