Task-oriented coping is when an athlete tries to deal with a stressful situation by focusing on the task at hand and trying to do their best (Nicholls, 2019). There are six different ways an athlete can do this, imagining doing well, putting in more effort, controlling their thoughts, asking for help, relaxing, or analyzing the situation logically (Gaudreau & Blondin, 2004). Research has shown that these coping strategies are the most helpful for athletes to perform well in sports (Nicholls, Taylor, Carroll, & Perry, 2016). Athletes at all levels, from beginners to professionals, can benefit from using these strategies (Nicholls, Taylor, Carroll, & Perry, 2016).
Gaudreau, P., & Blondin, J. P. (2004). Different athletes cope differently during sport competition: A cluster analysis of coping. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 18651877.
Nicholls, A. R. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Nicholls, A. R., Taylor, N. J., Carroll, S., & Perry, J. L. (2016). The development of a new sport-specific classification of coping and a meta-analysis of the relationship between different coping strategies and moderators on sporting outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1674.
