The ropes course at the North Attleborough branch of the Hockomock Area YMCA was renamed and dedicated on November 4, 2010 as the Captain Kyle R. Van De Giesen Outdoor Leadership Center. More than 8,000 students have participated in the ropes challenge, including Kyle R. Van De Giesen himself.
Kyle had been a star quarterback on the North Attleborough High School football team. He was a Captain in the U.S. Marines when he was killed at the age of 29 in a mid-air helicopter crash in Afghanistan in October 2009. The plaque that was dedicated to Kyle's memory reads:
"Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen Outdoor Leadership Center In Memory And Honor Of His Service To Community And Country. May His Courage Be Our Courage."
