Dr. Vladimír Kostka (20 August 1922 – 18 September 2009) was a Czech

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

coach and president of the Czechoslovak Ice Hockey Federation. Kostka was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997, and into the

Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 2008 and is located in Prague, Czech Republic. The Hall honors individuals that have contributed to the sport of hockey in the Czech Republic. It houses displays and a collection of memorabilia depi ...

in 2008. After a career as a hockey player and professor, Kostka coached the

Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team The Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team was the national ice hockey team of Czechoslovakia, and competed from 1920 until 1992. The successor to the Bohemia national ice hockey team, which ...

to a bronze medal at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

and a gold medal at the

1972 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1972 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 39th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 7 to 22 April 1972, and the Czechoslovakia national team won the tournament, the third ti ...

. While with the team, Kostka invented the

Left wing lock The left wing lock is a defensive ice hockey strategy similar to the neutral zone trap. In the most basic form, once puck possession changes, the left wing moves back in line with the defencemen. Each defender (including the left winger) plays a z ...

, a defensive ice hockey strategy which helped Czechoslovakia win numerous medals at the World Ice Hockey Championships.

Career

Kostka began his hockey career as a player in the Czechoslovakian league between 1938 and 1954. After finishing his minor career, Kostka lectured as a professor before joining the

as a member of the coaching staff in the late 1960s. While a professor, Kostka served as the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports department at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and was a Senate member for the university. As a coach, Kostka led Czechoslovakia's national team to a gold medal at the

, multiple silver and bronze medals at the following World Championships, and a bronze medal at the

. The gold medal win at the 1972 World Championships halted the Soviet Unions record for most consecutive World Championship wins at nine. Kostka is considered to be the inventor of the contemporary defensive ice hockey strategy called

left wing lock The left wing lock is a defensive ice hockey strategy similar to the neutral zone trap. In the most basic form, once puck possession changes, the left wing moves back in line with the defencemen. Each defender (including the left winger) plays a z ...

. The technique involved moving the left-wingers beside the defensemen, creating an obstacle in the middle zone. This technique was used by the Czechoslovakia national team during the World Championships and later by Scotty Bowman with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. After retiring from coaching, Kostka was elected president of the Czechoslovak Ice Hockey Federation and joined the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

(IIHF) coaches committee. He also used his coaching experience to write books about hockey strategy which have been translated into multiple languages. Kostka was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997, and into the

in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostka, Vladimir 1922 births 2009 deaths Czechoslovak ice hockey coaches Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team coaches IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Třebíč Ice hockey people from the Vysočina Region Academic staff of Charles University Czech ice hockey coaches