Natália Hejková

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Natália Hejková
USK Praha
PositionHead coach
LeagueCzech Women's Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1954-04-07) 7 April 1954 (age 70)
Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Coaching career1987–present

Natália Hejková (born 7 April 1954)[1] is a Slovak basketball coach and former player. In 2019 she was inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.[2]

Biography

Hejková was born on 7 April 1954 to Vsevolod Hejk, a Russian-Czech engineer, who was posted to Slovakia to oversee road construction and a Slovak schoolteacher Mária Hejková (née Buociková). She was born and raised in Žilina, where she started playing basketball at the age of 14.[1]

Hejková is single and childless.[3] In spite of her Russian family background and record of coaching Russian teams, she supports the exclusion of Russian athletes from international competitions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4]

Playing career

In 1972, following her high school graduation, Hejková started to study law at the Charles University in Prague. During her studies, she played for the university basketball team Slávia VŠ Praha. Following her graduation in 1979, she joined the team TJ SCP Ružomberok, where she remained until her retirement in 1986.[5]

Coaching career

Following the end of her playing career, Hejková was offered to become the head coach of TJ SCP Ružomberok, which was going through a rough time, as a temporary emergency measure. She stayed in the position from 1987 to 2003, winning Slovak title ten times in a row as well as two European Championships.[6]

Following her departure from Ružomberok, she coached Sopron Basket, WBC Sparta&K, which won 2 Russian Premier League Championship with Hejková as the head coach, MBC Dynamo Moscow and Ros Casares Godella.[2]

In 2012 she returned to Prague to become the head coach of USK Praha. Under Hejková, the team won the national title ten times and achieved a record of 256 games without defeat in the row.[7]

She also coached Slovak and Russian National Women's Team.[2]

Recognition

In 1998 Hejková received the Order of Ľudovít Štúr, 3rd class from the president Michal Kováč.[8] In 2019 she was inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Natália Hejková (1954)". www.memoryofnations.eu. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Trénerku Natáliu Hejkovú uvedú do Siene slávy Medzinárodnej basketbalovej federácie" (in Slovak). sport.sme.sk.
  3. ^ "Online s trénerkou Natáliou Hejkovou - Rozhovor". Športweb.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ Klein, Radovan (23 March 2023). "Je správne, že ruské kluby neúčinkujú v Eurolige, vraví basketbalová trénerka Hejková. Rozhodnutie skončiť nezmení". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Hospodársky denník - Šport". www.hospodarskyklub.sk.
  6. ^ Červený, Michal (4 May 2017). "Trénerskej legendy Hejkovej sa v Rusku bála Ovečkinova mama, pri Fiľovi sa v Ružomberku cítila ako žobráčka". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Hejková pri ďalšom rekorde. Praha pod jej vedením vyhrala v lige 257 zápasov po sebe". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Prezident SR - Štátne vyznamenania udelené v rokoch 1993-1998". archiv.prezident.sk. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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