Sjaak Lettinga

Sjaak Lettinga
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-09-16) 16 September 1982
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
DCG
Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 Stormvogels Telstar 119 (21)
2006–2007 Volendam 11 (1)
2007–2011 Helmond Sport 78 (8)
2011–2014 Telstar 100 (7)
2014–2015 Katwijk
2015–2016 IJVV Stormvogels
Total 308+ (37+)
Managerial career
2016–2021 IJVV Stormvogels
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sjaak Lettinga (born 16 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career, he played professionally for Telstar, Volendam, and Helmond Sport.

Career

Lettinga started playing football as a youth at DCG and played in the youth teams of Ajax from the under-11s through to the under-19s.[1] He broke through at Telstar during the 2001–02 season, but at his next club, FC Volendam, he was unable to secure a regular place in the starting line-up.[2]

From the 2007–08 season, Lettinga played for Helmond Sport.[3][4] He featured in almost every match during his first two seasons there, but a serious groin injury kept him sidelined for a prolonged period. A clause in his contract stipulated that he would earn a new deal if he made at least 25 appearances during the 2010–11 season.[5] As it became clear during the winter break that this target would not be reached, he left the club on a free transfer and returned to Telstar.[6]

In 2014–15, he played as an amateur for VV Katwijk, reaching promotion to the fourth-tier Topklasse with the club.[7][8][9] This was followed by a spell at Tweede Klasse club IJVV Stormvogels the following year.[10]

Coaching career

In the 2016–17 season, Lettinga was appointed head coach of his former club Stormvogels, a position he held until 2021.[11][12]

Honours

Katwijk

References

  1. ^ Suister, Ed (1994). "Sjaak Lettinga, voetballer juniorenelftal Ajax". archief.amsterdam (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Volendam strikt middenvelder Lettinga" [Volendam secures midfielder Lettinga]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 18 May 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Lettinga gaat naar Helmond voor herstart" [Lettinga joined Helmond Sport in an attempt to revive his career]. VoetbalPrimeur.nl (in Dutch). 1 June 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  4. ^ Freriks, Koen (17 May 2007). "Lettinga heeft Helmond Sport overtuigd" [Lettinga impressed Helmond Sport]. FCUpdate.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Lettinga blijft bij Helmond Sport" [Lettinga stays with Helmond Sport]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). 28 June 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Sjaak Lettinga naar Telstar" [Sjaak Lettinga to Telstar]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). 2 January 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  7. ^ "VV Katwijk test Sjaak Lettinga" [VV Katwijk test Sjaak Lettinga]. Omroep West (in Dutch). 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Sjaak Lettinga: 'Nu moet ik op zoek naar een echte baan'" [Sjaak Lettinga: "Now I have to look for a real job"]. NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 22 August 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Om in te Lijsten: Katwijk promoveert naar de nieuw te vormen topklasse" [Worth noting: Katwijk promoted to the newly formed Topklasse]. Omroep West (in Dutch). 18 October 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  10. ^ Geen, Gertjan van (15 June 2015). "Alle overschrijvingen in het amateurvoetbal op een rijtje" [All amateur football transfers at a glance]. IJmuider Courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Sjaak Lettinga nieuwe trainer Stormvogels" [Sjaak Lettinga new head coach of Stormvogels]. Voetbal in Haarlem (in Dutch). 27 April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Sjaak Lettinga blijft trainer Stormvogels" [Sjaak Lettinga remains head coach of Stormvogels]. Voetbal in Haarlem (in Dutch). 26 January 2019. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2026.