Sonia Raman is a renowned basketball coach in the U.S. She is the assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. She is the first Indian American woman, and the 14th woman ever, to become an NBA coach. Her role with Memphis Grizzlies involves scouting, player development and analytics. It is being reported that even Sonia Raman was surprised by this big jump in her career, which earned her newspaper headlines.
She had the distinction of being head coach of the women’s basketball team of MIT Engineers from 2008 to 2020. The team had the most wins in its history under her tenure as head coach. If one were to write a biography of Sonia Raman, then this fact deserves prominence.
About Sonia Raman
Sonia did her schooling at Framingham High School in Framingham, Massachusetts. She earned her bachelor’s in international relations in 1996 from Tufts University. She went on to earn a doctorate in law from Boston College Law School in 2001, then work for Fidelity Investments and the U.S. Department of Labor.
She was interested in basketball since her school days. In the university, she played for the Tufts Jumbos and went on to serve as co-captain of the team in her senior year.
She began playing basketball as a guard (a position in a basketball game) but was sidelined after a car hit her and broke her leg. She used the absence from the game to develop her coaching abilities in basketball.
Sonia worked as assistant basketball coach at Tufts for two years, and at Wellesley College for six years, before becoming head coach of the MIT Engineers. Her work involves scouting opponents, assisting with practice and game planning, managing individual player’s skill and leadership development, and serving as the primary recruiter.
Finding Fame
As the MIT Engineers head coach, she gained fame when her team won the program’s first two New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championships (in 2018 and 2019) and reached the championship game in 2020. Earlier, the team has never reached even the Division III NCAA tournament.
During her 12-year tenure with MIT, Sonia became the most successful coach in the history of the program, with a record of 152–155. During the last five years of her tenure with women’s basketball team of MIT Engineers, her team achieved a record of 91-45. Sonia was named the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
Sonia’s 18 student athletes have achieved NEWMAC accolades, including four Rookie of the Year awards. Four seniors were selected to participate in the New England Women’s Basketball Association Senior Classic.
Sonia was selected to serve a two-year term on the Coaches Council for the Alliance of Women Coaches in September 2017. The Alliance of Women Coaches is provides support and resources, and organizes events and programs that address the needs and interests of its members.
FAQs
Born to Indian immigrant parents in Boston, Sonia is a U.S. citizen. Her mother is from Nagpur, and her father from Chennai.
She is a very successful basketball coach.
There is no confirmed figure about her net worth, but PlayersWiki puts the average salary of an assistant coach in the NBA between $100,000 and $1 million.
She was initiated into basketball while in high school.
Born on February 11, 1974, she is 47 years old.
