Katja Stam is a Dutch beach volleyball player. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Stam shares the same birthday with her partner Raïsa Schoon. She was born at Emmen, Netherlands. Since the beginning of 2020 she has formed a team with Raïsa Schoon.
They started in 2020 during corona in the Dutch premier league, where they were able to write the win in their name six times. At the end of this season they became Dutch Champion on the beach of Scheveningen. In 2021 they started their international debut as a team and in that season they obtained the last European ticket for the Olympic Games in Tokyo by winning the Continental Cup in their own country. In Tokyo they came 17th and a few weeks later they won a silver medal at the European Championship in Vienna.
In 2022 they won four medals on the newly introduced Beach Pro Tour. This event put them at number 1 on the world rankings for a few weeks! They also won bronze at the European Championship. She does weekly 28 hours of ball, strength, cardio and mental training.
Achievements:
2023:
3rd place Beach Pro Tour Finals Doha (QAT)
Gold Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Doha (QAT)
Dutch Champion King of the 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 Championship Munich (GER)
Dutch Champion King of The Court
Gold Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Paris (FRA)
2021:
Silver European Championship Vienna
Dutch champion!
2020:
Dutch champion
Silver Dutch Championship (indoor)
5x gold Eredivisie
1x silver Eredivisie
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Katja Stam, an exceptionally talented Dutch Beach Volleyball player, here she talks 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 1.92m so when I was younger I didn’t have a lot of body control. This also meant that it was really hard to move in the sand as well in comparison to indoor. A lot of my teammates already went to under age tournaments and I always was just not good enough yet.
I always kept in mind that I wanted it the most and in the end I would show the most perseverance of everybody to achieve it. Besides that I was aware of my body ‘issues’. I knew I had a lot of benefits from being the tallest but I also need to work harder for coordination and technique than some other shorter players. I know there are also exceptions but this is how I see it in my career.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you mentally prepare for a major match? What strategies do you use to stay focused under pressure?
Katja Stam:
For me, the most important part is my preparation. If I know I did everything I could in training, recovery, team spirit, etc. I mostly feel confident in a tournament. Before a major match I prepare mentally by visualization. I visualize every task in very specific details. Like how I want my feet to be standing in passing, how much I want to bend my knees during a block jump. I also think about a positive outcome for all those tasks.
After that I start to visualize my behavior. How do I want to stand in the court? What I am doing after a point we’ve scored and what if we didn’t. At last I tell myself I did everything I could and I will give everything I have and then I start my warm-up. In the game I stay focused by sort of repeating this but then faster. So I stay with my little tasks and stay positive. If I’m getting to feel stressed I’m also focusing a lot on my breathing to stay focused.
Full Interview is Continued on Next Page
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President of womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2025 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
Can you walk us through your typical training routine? How do you balance strength, endurance, and skill training?
Katja Stam:
As a beach volleyball player you need to be an all-round athlete. You need to be fast, jump high, but also is strong to hit balls as hard as possible and it’s also a very technical sport where all the players need to do everything. Other than indoor volleyball where every player has their own expertise. This means we train our bodies in a lot of different ways.
We train around 12 times a week. In a week we have strength training, ball sessions, physical sessions on the sand with medicine balls for example, conditioning sessions on the sand or on the bike and injury prevention sessions/yoga sessions. I think this is the total package you need to become or stay a fit beach volleyball athlete.
Namita Nayyar:
How important is diet and nutrition in your performance? Can you share any nutrition tips for aspiring athletes?
Katja Stam:
I think it is really important. I’m playing in a lot of different circumstances. Warm, cold, rain, wind, sun but also being in higher areas for example means adjustments for my nutrition. The most important tips I want to share are that you should always be aware of 2 things. 1. Did I eat/drink enough to have energy for my whole training? Do I need to have more or do I take something with me during my training? 2. Did I have enough to recover and was it on time? I always try to get my recovery in as soon as possible so I can recover faster for my next training.
Namita Nayyar:
What specific exercises or drills do you recommend for developing the agility and strength required in beach volleyball?
Katja Stam:
For me it’s important to do at least 3 strength sessions a week where I train all muscle groups and I make it important to have variations to keep getting a stimulus from it. I’m also aware of some extra care for my ‘weaker’ spots which are mostly my knees.
Therefore I use a lot of isometric exercises like wall sits or lunge holds. And some heavy slow resistance exercises like sled drag. For agility I would say you need to train that in the gym as well. So instead of ‘just’ doing a back squat in control, you can choose to focus to be as fast as possible in the concentric phase of the exercise. Later you can transfer this to for example you’re starting speed in the sand to catch a tennis ball or play beach volleyball.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you recover after intense matches and training sessions? Do you have any favorite recovery techniques or therapies?
Katja Stam:
I have a lot of different ways to recover. As I already said, I think nutrition is an important part of it. Besides that, I use a lot of physio and massage treatments every week. Not only if I’m injured but also to prevent it. I also do a lot of stretching before and after training and matches. And I try to do yin yoga at least once a week to also focus on breathing as a part of a good recovery.
Namita Nayyar:
What has been the toughest match of your career so far, and what did you learn from it?
Katja Stam:
My toughest match ever was the round of 16 game at the Olympics in Paris this summer. We were 3 points away from winning the game in the second set and because of not being mentally strong enough we’ve lost it. Before the Olympics I thought I was mentally prepared for everything that comes at an Olympic games.
I knew it would be different from Tokyo where it was really quiet because of all the COVID rules but still I thought I discussed everything with my performance coach and my team. But it wasn’t good enough. I’ve really learned that I need to tell my team everything that can influence my performance.
So every insecurity, every irritation. And most important at the Olympics itself. I didn’t want to feel weak; I didn’t want to have a lot of discussions. I just wanted to play beach volleyball. But that is not enough to be the best in the world.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you handle setbacks, such as injuries or losses, and what keeps you motivated?
Katja Stam:
First of all I really love the sport. So even if I lose or if there is a day that I don’t feel so motivated I know in my heart that I still have a lot of passion for beach volleyball. Secondly I always have goals in mind. I know what I want and how I want to get there. For the rest I also have a lot of friends and family around me who support me in the good and the bad times and I can tell them everything. On the bad days they give me inspiration, motivation and positivity which keep me on track to my new goals.
Namita Nayyar:
What do you think are the qualities that make a successful beach volleyball player?
Katja Stam:
I think it’s a summary of everything above. When you’re starting your career as a young athlete, be focused on training all the techniques and get as strong as possible in the all-round way to jump and move in the sand the best as possible for you. When you’re getting more experienced, be aware of your body, stay fit and make your recovery important with nutrition, self-care and the use of a team of experts like physiotherapists.
And I think the most important part which is the difference between the good and the best players in the world is not how strong they are or how good they can play beach volleyball. In my opinion the best players have the best mental game. They make decisions at the right moment, know how to handle the pressure and can be vulnerable as well.
I think this is really hard and especially in the case of beach volleyball in a team of two without any reserve players you can’t hide yourself and you really need to know everything about each other to complement each other on the court under the highest pressure.
Namita Nayyar:
Do you have any advice for young athletes who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Katja Stam:
Know that not every day will be good but remember yourself everyday why you are doing what you’re doing. Make dreams, big goals but also really really small goals. There will be something good every day.
Katja Stam Social Media Presence
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katjastam/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/katja.stam.9
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President of womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2025 Women Fitness