The boys varsity soccer program at Wellington High School is represented by its own personal social media representative in sophomore Ava McDevitt. She’s perfectly qualified to do the job because she is a good photographer and she also plays soccer — as a member of the defense, usually as a right back, for Wellington High School’s girls junior varsity team.
McDevitt has been snapping high school soccer images since the eighth grade. She focuses on one social media platform — Instagram. The handle is @wellingtonhighsoccer. Besides posting pictures and videos to Instagram, some of the pictures she takes will also be used by the school’s yearbook staff.
According to McDevitt, her video posts on Instagram are short and to the point.
“I use Boomerangs, which are three to five seconds long and they repeat,” McDevitt explained. “Videos of goals are usually longer, lasting about 15 seconds.”
If you cannot attend a varsity game, you can often catch the highlights on Instagram while the game is being played.
“I post highlights on my phone while the games are going on so the people at home who could not make it can be updated,” McDevitt said.
Wellington High School varsity boys head soccer coach Chris Carrera appreciates the support that his team gets from McDevitt, who roams the same sideline as Carrera while varsity games are being played.
“Ava has been taking pictures for the soccer team for about three years,” Carrera said. “For the last two years, she has been assisting us with our social media account. Thanks to her, we have doubled our followers each year. She organizes the posts and makes sure we have flyers for every event and game we host. Thanks to her efforts and love for the game, we have also increased the number of students attending our home games. Ava has become an important team member, and we are truly lucky to have her assistance as our social media guru.”
McDevitt’s passion for photography started when she was in grade school.
“I’ve been interested in photography since as soon as I got an iPod in the third grade,” McDevitt said. “I started taking pictures off my iPod and eventually upgraded slowly. It’s something I enjoy doing.”
Now, she uses a Canon camera.
When asked if this work for the soccer program at Wellington High School is a precursor to being a professional sports photographer, she is open to the idea.
“I will always love to take pictures, so hopefully,” McDevitt said.
Is it possible that McDevitt will be working as a social media guru at the next men’s soccer World Cup when it comes to North America in 2026? She might. After all, she enjoyed following the action at this year’s World Cup in Qatar. Without a doubt, she would have enjoyed creating a few posts on Instagram had she been there, with her trusty Canon camera and phone at her disposal.
