Boston College Goalie Kait Devir Finding Her Niche on Lacrosse YouTube
Fri Feb 12 2021 | Kyle Devitte | College
College Women
PHOTO COURTESY OF BC ATHLETICS
What’s your favorite YouTube channel? It’s 2021, so you should probably have one by now. After all, YouTube is the world’s second-most used social platform behind Facebook, and the second-most visited website behind parent company Google.com. However, lacrosse coverage on YouTube is quite sparse compared to more mainstream sports like basketball, soccer and football. As a result, there is less lacrosse content on YouTube — but a new generation of creators is helping to change that.
Kait Devir is a sophomore goaltender on the Boston College women’s lacrosse team. She’s also behind one of the best lacrosse-centric YouTube channels in the industry. As a media and communications major, it comes as no surprise that her videos are polished and concise. What is surprising is how refreshing and real her videos are. In a time of pessimism and division, Devir swerves toward a positive roadway and the result is a channel — a vibe, if you will — that is one of the most entertaining offerings in the niche of lacrosse on YouTube. It’s hard to believe that the entire enterprise sprung to life after her first event with the team last fall.
“The first video I made was on our media day my freshman year,” Devir said. “I had been thinking about breaking out my GoPro at practice, but it is intimidating to have a camera in front of you and in front of [new] teammates — especially as a freshman. [You] want to film anything and everything because it’s the latest and greatest. You want to capture it all — you cannot beat this — it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
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That enthusiasm comes through in video form, as her channel is a collection of delightful vignettes from a workout with her family to a day-in-the-life featurette. Inspired by other YouTubers like Ohio State’s Mitchell Pelke and Canadian fitness luminary Will Tennyson, Devir’s charisma is natural and infectious, no matter the subject. That personality has helped Devir on the practice field, and the hard work she has put in this offseason into her training and approach has stood out.
“She has improved so much in the last three months,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “To be honest with you, I'm shocked at her devotion to fitness, nutrition and overall improvement. She’s the kind of kid that will literally run through a brick wall for you. She’ll do anything for her team. She is such a good human being. I mean genuine, caring and aware. She’s serious, but she’s also fun. You can trust her. You know when she says she’s gonna do something that she will do it. She’s clearly been raised very well. We love her.”
Devir’s first season was last year’s truncated campaign that saw the Eagles go 4-3 after going 22-2 overall and making it to the national championship game in 2019. Boston College enters the 2021 season ranked at No. 17 in the Nike / US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20. But a ranking won’t deter or encourage the fighting spirit of the Eagles, who desire only excellence from their current squad.
“My expectations are for each player to narrow their focus to two things: individual improvement and winning. Nothing else,” Walker-Weinstein said. “Not playing time. Not jerseys. Not facilities. Not the opponent. We have a core group of girls that are so focused on winning. That’s all that mattered to them, and we just need more people with that singular focus, and I think we have it.”
Devir has yet to log her first game minutes in a BC uniform, but it’s something that she has thought about since she set foot on campus years ago. She’s even envisioned how her first save will play out.
“I've kind of always had this dream that — I don't know how to explain it — I’ve seen it several times,” Devir said. “It’s a fast-break, the [other team] is coming down the left side and I make a save off stick, just a huge stop, and then [there is] this beautiful clear right on the money. It’s this idea that this other player comes down on a fast break, and you’re just going right back at them. My job is to stop the ball. I must do that.”
With the season approaching, Devir’s focus will be on helping her team win games, but she’s already planning for a future in sports media. She’s currently pursuing an internship opportunity with Major League Baseball but would also welcome to opportunity to work with the new Athletes Unlimited Women’s Professional Lacrosse League after her season concludes.
“I want to stay in sports,” Devir said. “Sports have shaped my entire life — who I am and what I do. I know I want to stay in that realm. I think it just has to be something with content creating and definitely on the field. I’m not a 9-to-5, sit in a desk kind of girl. I want to get out there, I want to take photos. I want to do video. I want to work with more athletes. There’s just not that much content for women’s lacrosse, and I’d love to help in any way that I can.”
