Katja Stam is a Dutch volleyball player on the beach. He fought at the 2020 summer Olympics. Stam shares the same birthday as her partner Raïsa Schoon. He was born in Emmen, the Netherlands. Since the beginning of 2020 he has formed a team with Schoon Raïsa.
They started in 2020 during Corona in the Dutch Premier League, where they were able to write the victory in their name six times. At the end of this season they became a Dutch champion on the beach of Scheveningen. In 2021 they started their international debut as a team and at that time received the latest European ticket for the Tokyo Olympics winning the Continental Cup in their country. In Tokyo, they came 17th and a few weeks later won a silver medal at the European Championship in Vienna.
In 2022 they won four medals in the newly formed Beach Pro Tour. This event put them in number 1 in the world rankings for a few weeks! They also won the bronze in the European Championship. It makes 28 hours of ball, strength, cardio and mental training weekly.
Accomplishments:
2023:
3rd place Beach Pro Tour Finals Doha (Qat)
Gold Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Doha (Qat)
Dutch champion king of court
2022:
Silver Beach Pro Tour Challenge Tlaxcala (Mex)
Gold Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Rosarito (Mex)
Bronze Beach Pro Tour Challenge Itapema (BRA)
Bronze European Munich Championship (GER)
Dutch champion king of court
Gold Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Paris (FRA)
2021:
Silver European Vienna Championship
Dutch champion!
2020:
Dutch champion
Silver Dutch Championship (internal)
5x Gold Erredivisie
1x Silver Eredivisie
Women Namita Nayyar’s president attracts Katja Stam, an extremely talented Dutch volleyball player on the beach, here’s talking about her fitness regime and her story to success.
Namita Nayyar:
What were some of the challenges you faced early in your career? How did you overcome them?
Katja Stam:
I am 1.92 m. So when I was younger I didn’t have much control of the body. This also meant that it was really difficult to move in the sand as well as compared to the interior. Many of my teammates already went to the tournaments under age and I have always been good enough yet.
I always keep in mind that I wanted it more and in the end I would show the greatest perseverance of all to achieve it. Besides, I knew the “issues” of my body. I knew I had many benefits than being the tallest, but I also have to work harder for coordination and technique than some other younger players. I know there are also exceptions, but so I see it in my career.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you prepare mentally for an important race? What strategies do you use to stay focused under pressure?
Katja Stam:
For me, the most important place is my preparation. If I know I did everything I could in training, recovery, team spirit, etc. I feel mostly confident in a tournament. Before an important match I am mentally prepared by visualization. I edit every job in very specific details. Like how I want my feet to stand in the passage, how much I want to bend my knees during a bloc jump. I am also thinking of a positive result for all these tasks.
After that I begin to depict my behavior. How do I want to stand on the court? What I do after a point we noted and what if we didn’t. Finally I tell myself that I did what I could and will give what I have and then start my warming. In the game I remain focused on its kind I repeat this, but then faster. So I stay with my little duties and remain positive. If I feel anxious, I focus a lot on my breath to stay focused.
The full interview continues on the next page
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