Game On: Team USA Beach Volleyball Superstar Taryn Kloth On Strength, Joy & Performance Anxiety

As one-half of the beach volleyball superstar duo known as TKN, 27-year-old Taryn Kloth has dominated the world of beach volleyball since 2021. Alongside her partner Kristen Nuss, the 6-foot-4 athlete currently ranks second in the world. And the powerful pair clinched the first Olympic spot on Team USA with nearly three months left of the qualifying timeline. 

Essentially: These two are powerhouses. 

Taryn Kloth: So, Kristen and I have a routine down where we eat two hours before the match and then about an hour before we head over to the venue. While we get ready, we both share an AirPod, and we're listening to the playlist, so we're getting in the same mindset. 

Kloth: I absolutely, 100% need my sunglasses. In fact, I could do without a hat. I could do without anything else. But I need my sunglasses. I wear a pair from Zenni Optical. We are very selective about the brands we use, but they've been great to work with because they're so willing to take our feedback and make changes. They're always like, How can we improve this for you to improve your performance?

And I also need my hydration. If you ever watch me play, I pull out four water bottles, and every single one of them has either salt, electrolytes, or something like that mixed in. 

Kloth: I've actually been working closely with my sports psych and dietitian and just kind of figuring out what I can do to improve my sleep before games. Because before—in the past—I could not sleep the night before. I would just be thinking about the match and I'd be playing it over in my head. I'd be playing scenarios like, "OK, I have to do this against one person and that against another person." 

And it just wasn't helping. 

So, what I've started to do is I always bring a book and my journal with me when I travel. I journal for only about five minutes, but it's just about getting every single thought or worry out of my head. Once it's written down, then it leaves my head. Then I start to read for about 30-45 minutes. 

Kloth: Before I play, I love a nice balanced meal. For my carbs, I usually stick to potatoes and rice. I mean, I love pasta, but for some reason, it doesn't do the same thing for me when I'm going to go play, so I don't eat it before matches. For my proteins, I like to stick with chicken. I stay away from red meats right before I'm about to play. And lots of vegetables. I'm definitely high in carbs and proteins right before I'm about to go to sleep.

Kloth: My little sister teaches hot yoga, so I love going to her classes. I want to support her because I just think that she is like the coolest person ever.

I love walks. I absolutely love going on walks if I'm stressed or anything's going on. I'm just like, I'm going to go for a walk and it's just, it's going to be better. 

I think pickleball is just an absolute blast right now. But we are just on pause from all other sports at the moment.

Kloth: It's really important to show vulnerability and honesty with your teammate. Because the truth is sometimes you don't want to show up and you have to say that to them. You have to be honest. And those aren't fun things to say. Nobody wants to be weak, especially in the sports world. You never want to claim that you can't do something. Or you feel as though you can't do something. Because we all want to win and we want to be the best. 

But it's OK to be vulnerable. That's when we [my teammate Kristen and I] have gotten closer—those moments when one of us is sharing, Hey, I'm so unbelievably nervous right now, and I need your help. That creates a different type of bond. 

Kloth: That was actually my goal for this year because I was having so much performance anxiety. We—my coach, Kirsten, and me—and I expressed to them how I was feeling. I was just like, "If I play bad, I'm letting you two down. And that absolutely crushes me. And then for days I don't sleep because I'm just so worried that they're going to be mad at me." Kristen asked, "Well, have you ever been mad at me if I ruined the game?" And of course, the answer to that is absolutely not. Because I know she tried her hardest. She said, "Well, the same goes for you." 

So, I've been trying to pull myself out of that space when I'm feeling that way. I try and take a moment to realize where I am and get myself out of the game. 

So, for example, when I'm playing in Switzerland, in the middle of the game as we're switching sides or something, Kristen and I have been working on acknowledging that We're playing beach volleyball in the Swiss Alps and have USA on our chest. 

It's just taking it into perspective. These are things that we wished for and wanted to have so badly, and we need to be present and enjoy it instead of being anxious about it because that's going to ruin the moment.

Kloth: I want you to absolutely love it. And if you find yourself not absolutely loving it, ask yourself why and what are those reasons? Spend time actually digging into it instead of just covering it up. 

Because that's what I did for a while, and I just couldn't get past it. So then I decided I want to have fun again. I want to have fun again. And it really is just you deciding that you want to go and have fun again because it is a sport.

The other thing I would say is that these things are scary. It is very terrifying to take off on a journey where you don't know where it's going to actually end. So, it's really important to have your goals not be based on something else.