Ali Higgs begins her second season on the Dolphins staff after coaching the Dolphins' pitchers last season.

Under her guidance in 2007, the Dolphins were able to rotate three different pitchers who gave them a chance to win every time they took the circle, including freshman Ashley Iveson who threw a complete game shutout in the win over UNC-Greensboro and allowed only one hit over 7.2 innings to softball powerhouse North Carolina.

She spent 2005 as a pitching coach for the Torrens Valley Redsox of the South Australia Softball Association in Adelaide, Australia.

Higgs, who played for the Redsox's Team A, coached the grade B, C and under-19 pitching staffs in Sept. 2005. She was responsible for daily pitching workouts and overall pitching instruction, while also calling pitches during competitions. She coordinated the overall instruction and development of all athletes both offensively and defensively. Higgs also directed multiple club clinics, while organizing private and team pitching lessons several times a week.

While coaching with Torrens Valley, Higgs was also a co-head coach in the physical education department at Saint Peters Collegiate Girls School in Adelaide, Australia. She was responsible for all daily coaching duties as lead instructor for the middle school softball and elementary tee-ball teams. She also helping organize team travel and roster requirements with local competition.

Higgs began sharing her softball knowledge as a camp instructor at the Ripken Baseball Academy in Aberdeen, Md., during the summer of 2005. She was responsible for leading and assisting softball instruction in all facets of the game. Higgs mentored pitchers of all ages, while also helping organize the daily camp agenda for the areas of instruction to be covered.

In her collegiate career, Higgs was a four-year letterwinner at Iona College from 2002-2005 as a pitcher. She finished her career in the top 10 in every offensive category and in the top five of every pitching category. Higgs is the all-time leader in at-bats (522) and hits (164), while ranking second in home runs with 17. In the circle, she holds the program record for appearances (95), victories (51), ERA (1.34), strikeouts (512) and shutouts (13). Higgs was also a two-time Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Northeast Region first team selection and earned 2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference "Player of the Year" accolades.

After her outstanding collegiate career, she earned a professional contract with the New York Juggernaut of the National Professional Fast pitch league in 2005. In her first appearance, she fanned two-time gold medalist Amanda Freed to secure her first professional victory. In 2006, she signed with the Philadelphia Force, but didn't see any action due to injury.

Higgs graduated cum laude from Iona in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and is working on her master's degree at Jacksonville University.