Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Georgetown on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 16
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Final
Men's Lacrosse
12
vs Georgetown
16
Photo by: Duke Sports Information
Rowe Walks Through Quarantine for One Love
6/15/2020 10:05:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
As a faceoff specialist, Kyle Rowe was in the unique position to effect change on the lacrosse field every time he stepped on the field for a battle at the X. No longer playing the sport competitively, Rowe found a new avenue where he could use his steps to effect change – by walking.
Like millions of other Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rowe was laid off from his job March 26 – the day before his birthday. The native of Vienna, Va., turned the negative into a positive by using his free time to walk – and walk a lot – for a cause.
"I was always originally going to do a yards campaign, because I walk a lot every day and it's an amazing cause," said Rowe. "Then I got laid off the day before my birthday, so I had a lot of free time. I needed something to distract myself, but also wanted to see how I could apply the skills I had learned in my other jobs into a non-profit fundraising initiative. So, it was good timing to try something and put effort into something for a really great cause."
Buoyed by his rambunctious dogs Cheeba and Moxie and the beautiful city of Denver, Colo., Rowe pledged to move 352,000 yards (200 miles) – a number he far surpassed – as part of the virtual Yards for Yeardley movement sponsored by the One Love Foundation.
One Love was founded in 2010 to honor Virginia women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love who was murdered by her boyfriend. The organization works to "ensure everyone understands the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship. It works to educate young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and empowering them to identify and avoid abuse and learn how to love better."
Hailing from Vienna, Va., 30 minutes outside of Washington D.C., Rowe was a huge Virginia lacrosse fan growing up. As a freshman in high school in the spring of 2010, he remembers hearing and reading about the death of Yeardley Love and the ensuing murder trial.
"I was always super aware of the story with Yeardley, because I was a Virginia lacrosse fan to the core growing up in northern Virginia," Rowe said. "That happened when I was really into lacrosse and it shook me and my personal life has definitely been affected by it."
Years later while at Duke, Rowe was introduced to One Love and upon moving out to Colorado a couple years after graduation, he reconnected with the organization. In Denver, Rowe underwent training to become a facilitator and guide group discussions at escalation workshops.
"Going through the training makes you kind of self-reflective," Rowe said. "Obviously it's important for anybody of any gender to learn these types of skills, but I think with the boys and men in particular there is a bit of 'Wow, do I do some bad things or do I let my friends do bad things? Am I part of the problem?' And sometimes that can scare people into becoming silent and not have a dialogue about it. It's helped me learn and hopefully other people learn as well."
He utilized the skills of listening and learning how to ask empathetic questions and engage in difficult conversation. Rowe was able to take part in his first workshop as a facilitator, which entails sitting and watching a film created by the One Love Foundation and then having an open and frank conversation about the subject matter in the video.
"The first workshop I did, honestly I was a little rattled at first because it was for teenagers. The parents who came with them were split into a separate group and I was paired up with a group of younger teenage girls. At first I was like 'Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm ready for this.' But then you think about the fact these girls unfortunately likely will be more impacted by this than guys. They came here and were brave enough to learn about this issue and how it will affect them and how to be an ally. I figured I can have an uncomfortable conversation about the subject in the video that I wouldn't normally be talking about with kids that age."
Getting over the hurdle of a first workshop, Rowe was set to do more before all of the social distancing and the stay at home orders came through, once again forcing him to pivot and change his plans.
One thing Rowe proved he could during his time at Duke on the lacrosse field and specifically at the faceoff X was adjust. A winner of 819 career faceoffs between his one season at Stony Brook and three with the Blue Devils, Rowe was adept at adapting and reading his opponents. He still ranks seventh in NCAA history in faceoff wins, eighth in faceoffs attempted (1,130) and 26th in faceoff win percentage (.616).
So much like what he did four years prior as a Blue Devil, Rowe took a moment and planned a new course of action.
With Cheeba and Moxie – nicknamed Choxie – in tow, Rowe downloaded a calendar and some of the graphics from the One Love website and got to walking. He shared his progress as well as whom he was walking in honor of via social media daily. One day it was women who might be stuck at home in an abusive relationship during the pandemic, another it was trans women and then another it was for women's lacrosse players nationwide.
Rowe's original pledge was for 352,000 yards, but after only nine days, he was at 186,000, averaging nearly 21,000 steps per day or just under 12 miles. He tracked his steps via his Fitbit and at the end of the day, he would mark his progress on his calendar, wake up, and do the same the next day.
While the April weather in Denver was inconsistent at best – it was 70 degrees on April 11 and 34 the next day on Easter – Rowe never wavered. Using his six-foot long leash for the dogs as a perfect guide to socially distance, he hovered in the 20,000 steps per day average for the rest of the month.
Rowe's proverbial next step came in enlisting the help of Duke teammates like Justin Guterding to grow his donor group and donations. When he reached 25 donors, Rowe, always one to walk to the beat of his own drum and do so proudly, ate 25 donuts live on Instagram to thank them. He pushed his goal to 40 donors by the end of April.
Never taking a day off from his 20,000-plus steps per day average, Rowe proved why he could be so lethal in the fourth quarter of a lacrosse game. His endurance combined with his steadfast commitment to the challenge in front of him, Rowe pushed himself to walk 615,000 steps, which comes out to approximately 350 miles. It also allowed him to raise a total of $2,041.00 to rank him sixth among individuals and 14th among the teams who took part in the virtual movement.
As the calendar moved to May and now June, Rowe may not record his daily step count, but he still carries his commitment to the One Love Foundation's mission and vows to continue going the extra mile to bring awareness and educate in the best way he can.
For those who would like to learn more about the One Love Foundation visit https://joinonelove.org. To learn more about Yards for Yeardley go to https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/the-story-behind-yards-for-yeardley/.
#GoDuke
Like millions of other Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rowe was laid off from his job March 26 – the day before his birthday. The native of Vienna, Va., turned the negative into a positive by using his free time to walk – and walk a lot – for a cause.
"I was always originally going to do a yards campaign, because I walk a lot every day and it's an amazing cause," said Rowe. "Then I got laid off the day before my birthday, so I had a lot of free time. I needed something to distract myself, but also wanted to see how I could apply the skills I had learned in my other jobs into a non-profit fundraising initiative. So, it was good timing to try something and put effort into something for a really great cause."
Buoyed by his rambunctious dogs Cheeba and Moxie and the beautiful city of Denver, Colo., Rowe pledged to move 352,000 yards (200 miles) – a number he far surpassed – as part of the virtual Yards for Yeardley movement sponsored by the One Love Foundation.
One Love was founded in 2010 to honor Virginia women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love who was murdered by her boyfriend. The organization works to "ensure everyone understands the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship. It works to educate young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and empowering them to identify and avoid abuse and learn how to love better."
Hailing from Vienna, Va., 30 minutes outside of Washington D.C., Rowe was a huge Virginia lacrosse fan growing up. As a freshman in high school in the spring of 2010, he remembers hearing and reading about the death of Yeardley Love and the ensuing murder trial.
"I was always super aware of the story with Yeardley, because I was a Virginia lacrosse fan to the core growing up in northern Virginia," Rowe said. "That happened when I was really into lacrosse and it shook me and my personal life has definitely been affected by it."
Years later while at Duke, Rowe was introduced to One Love and upon moving out to Colorado a couple years after graduation, he reconnected with the organization. In Denver, Rowe underwent training to become a facilitator and guide group discussions at escalation workshops.
"Going through the training makes you kind of self-reflective," Rowe said. "Obviously it's important for anybody of any gender to learn these types of skills, but I think with the boys and men in particular there is a bit of 'Wow, do I do some bad things or do I let my friends do bad things? Am I part of the problem?' And sometimes that can scare people into becoming silent and not have a dialogue about it. It's helped me learn and hopefully other people learn as well."
He utilized the skills of listening and learning how to ask empathetic questions and engage in difficult conversation. Rowe was able to take part in his first workshop as a facilitator, which entails sitting and watching a film created by the One Love Foundation and then having an open and frank conversation about the subject matter in the video.
"The first workshop I did, honestly I was a little rattled at first because it was for teenagers. The parents who came with them were split into a separate group and I was paired up with a group of younger teenage girls. At first I was like 'Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm ready for this.' But then you think about the fact these girls unfortunately likely will be more impacted by this than guys. They came here and were brave enough to learn about this issue and how it will affect them and how to be an ally. I figured I can have an uncomfortable conversation about the subject in the video that I wouldn't normally be talking about with kids that age."
Getting over the hurdle of a first workshop, Rowe was set to do more before all of the social distancing and the stay at home orders came through, once again forcing him to pivot and change his plans.
One thing Rowe proved he could during his time at Duke on the lacrosse field and specifically at the faceoff X was adjust. A winner of 819 career faceoffs between his one season at Stony Brook and three with the Blue Devils, Rowe was adept at adapting and reading his opponents. He still ranks seventh in NCAA history in faceoff wins, eighth in faceoffs attempted (1,130) and 26th in faceoff win percentage (.616).
So much like what he did four years prior as a Blue Devil, Rowe took a moment and planned a new course of action.
With Cheeba and Moxie – nicknamed Choxie – in tow, Rowe downloaded a calendar and some of the graphics from the One Love website and got to walking. He shared his progress as well as whom he was walking in honor of via social media daily. One day it was women who might be stuck at home in an abusive relationship during the pandemic, another it was trans women and then another it was for women's lacrosse players nationwide.
Rowe's original pledge was for 352,000 yards, but after only nine days, he was at 186,000, averaging nearly 21,000 steps per day or just under 12 miles. He tracked his steps via his Fitbit and at the end of the day, he would mark his progress on his calendar, wake up, and do the same the next day.
While the April weather in Denver was inconsistent at best – it was 70 degrees on April 11 and 34 the next day on Easter – Rowe never wavered. Using his six-foot long leash for the dogs as a perfect guide to socially distance, he hovered in the 20,000 steps per day average for the rest of the month.
Over half way to my #yardsforyeardley goal!!! Who wants to help me and my super cute dogs hit 25 donors by the end of the week?!?!? https://t.co/5k29k4AfJX pic.twitter.com/RMKsJfGv1F
— Kyle Rowe (@RussellKRowe) April 14, 2020
Rowe's proverbial next step came in enlisting the help of Duke teammates like Justin Guterding to grow his donor group and donations. When he reached 25 donors, Rowe, always one to walk to the beat of his own drum and do so proudly, ate 25 donuts live on Instagram to thank them. He pushed his goal to 40 donors by the end of April.
Never taking a day off from his 20,000-plus steps per day average, Rowe proved why he could be so lethal in the fourth quarter of a lacrosse game. His endurance combined with his steadfast commitment to the challenge in front of him, Rowe pushed himself to walk 615,000 steps, which comes out to approximately 350 miles. It also allowed him to raise a total of $2,041.00 to rank him sixth among individuals and 14th among the teams who took part in the virtual movement.
As the calendar moved to May and now June, Rowe may not record his daily step count, but he still carries his commitment to the One Love Foundation's mission and vows to continue going the extra mile to bring awareness and educate in the best way he can.
For those who would like to learn more about the One Love Foundation visit https://joinonelove.org. To learn more about Yards for Yeardley go to https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/the-story-behind-yards-for-yeardley/.
#GoDuke
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