26.05.2024, Espinho, Praia da Baia Beachvolleyball, Beach Pro Tour, Elite 16 Espinho, Spiel Platz 3/4 Katja Stam / Raïsa Schoon (NED) vs. Daniela Álvarez Mendoza / Tania Moreno Matveeva (ESP) Foto: Conny Kurth / www.kurth-media.de

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

Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.