Danielle Ayler is not just a softball player for Bakersfield College. She is also a member of the world champion Blue Devil Drum Corps.
“Winning the championship last year was very nice. I felt accomplished for all the hard work I put in during the season,” Ayler said about being apart of the Championship Corps.
The Blue Devils are a drum corps program with numerous subdivisions of drums corps within the program.
The Blue Devils were founded in 1957 and are located in Concord, California.
The main corps is The Blue Devils “A” Drum and Bugle corps. The “A” corps is a 14-time Drum Corps International World Champions and has finished in the top five in the last 28 consecutive years.
The secondary corps is The Blue Devil “B” Drum and Bugle Corps. The “B” Corps was DCI World Champions in 2009 and 2010.
Ayler was a member of the 2010 “B” Corps DCI World Champions. Ayler played the mellophone in the hornline for the championship corps last year.
“The hornline plays all the melody. I hate to compare drum corps to marching band, but it’s more similar to that, but just a millon times better and harder,” Ayler said.
The Drum Corps wasn’t always on the mind of Ayler.
“I started in the drum corps when my boyfriend got me started in it,” Ayler said.
She recalls that the drum corps wasn’t exactly what she thought it would be.
“It was more fun then I thought and I knew that it would take dedication and that 12-hour rehearsals everyday isn’t something to be taken lightly,” Ayler said.
Ayler explained the difference between the “A” and “B” Corps.
“The ‘A’ class is a world class, think of it like varsity,” Ayler said.
“And the ‘B’ Corps is open class, think of it as [Junior Varsity].”
Ayler, a utility infielder for the Renegades, joked about picking Drum Corps over softball if it came down to it.
“I love doing both, but I’ve been playing softball for about 10 years and Drum Corps only one full summer. In that one summer after winning a championship, I felt way more rewarded for my hard work. On top of that, it’s extremely fun.”