We were lucky to catch up with Ramia Griffin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ramia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

Funny story actually, I did the one thing I said I would never do…quit. I was playing basketball in college and I was so unhappy, the thing that Ive played my whole life, what my whole identity was wrapped in, I finally said no more. Not because I didn’t love basketball but because my coach took away the love of the game for me, however I didn’t sit on my ass, that very same day I went online, looked up the high schools in my area, called them up and asked when the team was practicing. Went to the gym, and I asked the coach if he would give me a chance to just volunteer my time, I wanted to stick with the thing that kept me sane my whole life, and he said back to me “well, we are actually looking for a head coach, and I think you would be just the person.” And history wrote itself from there, I knew it was a sign from God that I was not meant to be done with basketball. That my time wasn’t done. Maybe my time as a player had come to an end, but my time as a coach was just beginning. At that time my goal was to turn the program around, they were the worst in their league, and after a lot of hard work, we finished second and made it to playoffs, I was so proud. I knew what my purpose was from there. Im grateful for that time because it taught me a lot, how I am as a coach, how I expect my players to play, how I want my program to be perceived, it was not easy to instill championship qualities in a last place program, but we made it work and Im forever proud and will remember my very first team.

Ramia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a coach, Ive played basketball my entire life, literally since kindergarten. I started as a head varsity coach at a high school in Orange County, and for the longest time I did not have an interest in pursuing the collegiate level. I loved being a mentor to young women and being able to be the person they could rely on to help them get to college, a job, navigate life etc. I wanted to be the person that I wish I had when I was in high school. As an only child, I did not have an older sibling that I could look up to to guide me, and you know when you are young you don’t want to listen to your parents, so I really looked up to my coaches. And as I achieved success (making playoffs, getting players to the college level, winning championships, etc) I realized I wanted more, I wanted to really make a career out of basketball, and high school coaching pretty much pays for your Netflix subscription for the year haha. I wrote about a million emails to all of the Division 1 schools in my area, heard back from a few, and landed at UC Irvine as a video coordinator and I was ecstatic, not only to be at the division 1 level, but to be able to start what I feel is the beginning of my collegiate journey. I am now Director of Basketball Operations at CSU Northridge and I love it. I love being part of a team, I love the growth I have made as a coach, the mentors I have gained, and it still only the very beginning.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

To anyone managing a team….remember you were once the one being managed. You were once at the bottom, do not forget that part of your journey. If you want to successfully manage a team and have great team culture, you have to respect others and treat others how you want to be treated at the end of the day. Smile, remain human, and do not act like you are too good to do the bottom level work.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Will…the book by Will Smith. My favorite quote from the book is “Be nice to people on your way up, because you never know who you’ll run in to on your way back down.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: thenamesramia