The stars are aligning for Alicia Ashburn, the new Oak Harbor High School softball coach.

Ashburn, who grew up in Indiana, was looking to relocate and came to Whidbey Island two years ago to visit her best friend from high school, who was stationed at the naval air base.

When Ashburn realized she “loved the area,” she decided to make it her home.

“When my roommates are stationed somewhere else next spring, I will stay in Oak Harbor, which I now consider my home,” she said.

First came the home, then the job. She applied for a position teaching English at North Whidbey Middle School and was chosen for the job.

The third star fell into place when Ashburn received the Oak Harbor High School softball head coaching job. She replaces Tashina Tosh, who held the position for two years.

“The timing of a teaching and coaching position opening up where I decided to live couldn’t have happened more perfectly,” she said. “I have a lot of experience coaching and playing softball, and I love sharing my knowledge with the new generation of softball players.”

Ashburn grew up in Mishawaka, Ind., and played high school volleyball, basketball and softball. She earned academic and athletic scholarships to Valparaiso University (Indiana), where she received a teaching degree and was a four-year starting second baseman for the Crusaders.

She began her coaching career her senior year in high school in 2004, helping with volleyball and softball. Ashburn has since coached middle school, high school and college softball. This year at North Whidbey, she coached the boys basketball team.

Ashburn said he wanted the high school softball position “because I know I have the skills and ability to help this program grow in a positive direction, and I’m excited to work with the young female athletes in Oak Harbor as we use the game of softball to learn valuable life lessons.”

Ashburn is the fourth Wildcat coach in the past 10 years, and Oak Harbor has struggled to win games most of those seasons.

“I believe that winning is a byproduct of taking care of the little things, so we won’t talk about winning softball games, but we will talk about our attitude, how we talk to ourselves and each other, how we approach challenges and work through failures, and how we plan to learn and grow a little more each day,” she said.

“At the end of the season, if my players can say I made them feel empowered, I helped them learn more about softball and life, or I created a safe and fun place for them to be after school, then I will consider the season very successful with a lot of wins for our program.”

Ashburn hopes to be more than the high school coach.

“I am excited to become part of the softball community here in Oak Harbor,” she said. “My goal is to become a resource for the entire community by working with other coaches, teams, parents and younger players who love the game and want to learn more.

“I will offer coaching clinics this season and player clinics in the summer for anyone interested, and I hope to see the community at our home games supporting the high school girls on their journey this spring.”

Practice began Monday for the Wildcats, who open the season at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 9, at the Everett Jamboree. The first game is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, when South Whidbey visits Oak Harbor.