Natália Hejková
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 April 1954 Žilina, Czechoslovakia |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1976–1986 |
| Coaching career | 1987–2025 |
Natália Hejková (born 7 April 1954)[1] is a former Slovak basketball coach and player. In 2019 she was inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.[2]
Biography
[edit]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]
Playing career
[edit]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.[4]
Coaching career
[edit]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.[5]
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.[6] The team also achieved two EuroLeague titles under her leadership, those being in 2015 and also 10 years later in 2025. Following the 2025 EuroLeague victory, she ended her coaching career at the age of 71.[7]
She also coached Slovak and Russian National Women's Team.[2]
Recognition
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ a b "Natália Hejková (1954)". www.memoryofnations.eu. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Trénerku Natáliu Hejkovú uvedú do Siene slávy Medzinárodnej basketbalovej federácie" (in Slovak). sport.sme.sk.
- ^ "Online s trénerkou Natáliou Hejkovou - Rozhovor". Športweb.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Hospodársky denník - Šport". www.hospodarskyklub.sk.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Hejková pri ďalšom rekorde. Praha pod jej vedením vyhrala v lige 257 zápasov po sebe". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Lepšiu rozlúčku si ani nemohla priať. Hejková ovládla Euroligu šiestykrát v kariére". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Prezident SR - Štátne vyznamenania udelené v rokoch 1993-1998". archiv.prezident.sk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
- 1954 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Žilina
- Slovak women's basketball players
- FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
- Charles University alumni
- Slovak expatriate basketball people in Russia
- Slovak expatriate basketball people in Hungary
- Slovak expatriate basketball people in Spain
- Slovak expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic