Gary Sundown has always been a program builder in a life dedicated to lacrosse.
Sundown constructed a consistent powerhouse at Akron High School and has forged a collective sense of belonging and community through the game on the Tonawanda Reservation.
Sundown – who was named 2022 USA Lacrosse Boys High School Coach of the Year in Section VI – has been named the 2025-26 winner of the John Faller Memorial Award for his commitment to lacrosse in Western New York.
“I’m truly humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award, joining an elite group while recognizing the legacy of John Faller, fellow coach and longtime friend, and his dedication to Western New York lacrosse really meant a lot to me,” Sundown said. “He was one of my early heroes. Him and Gene Tundo (the 2023-24 award recipient).
“When I started, I wanted to be like John Faller. I wanted to win like Sweet Home. Anytime I had a question or problem or didn’t know how to deal with a certain kid, I’d give him a ring and he’d guide me.”
Sundown is set to receive the award on Friday when the Buffalo Bandits battle with the Ottawa Black Bears, the same team that Gary’s son, Larson Sundown, plays for.
Sundown helped establish the Akron lacrosse program in 2000 after working with the district’s modified lacrosse program which is tailored towards younger players.
It wasn’t an easy start for Sundown at Akron as winless seasons hindered roster retention. Things quickly blossomed as a lacrosse culture cultivated by Sundown emerged on the reservation.
The surge in participation led to Sundown developing a Western New York juggernaut as Akron won eight Section VI titles and two regional championships during his tenure. This included a run of five consecutive titles with three in Section VI Class C and two in Section VI Class D.
“It was like taking a pebble of sand and turning it into a diamond,” Sundown said. “In the beginning it was a lot of lows, no wins. Then, we were playing 24 games a season. It was hard to get kids to come back. I had to put one foot in front of the other.”
Amid the stretch of championships – that was headlined by Larson’s incredible run of over 300-career goals – Sundown taught his players the importance of honoring “The Creator’s Game” which pertains to the longstanding lacrosse tradition in the Haudenosaunee community.
Sundown informed his players about how lacrosse is a healing game and acts as an important form of medicine. He also brought forth lessons about birds versus animals which were chronicles about how a rivalry between the two – resolved by a lacrosse-style stickball game – connects to bird migration and virtues of acceptance, courage and respect.
Sundown’s teams were primarily comprised of Seneca tribe members and he said applying the aforementioned teachings are a prominent piece of their tradition. He also said he strived to get his players to embrace the values he taught them, and it was a key driver to the program’s success.
“Throughout the season, I always tell stories of when we used to lose when we’d be 0-24 and have to come back the next year and do it all over again,” Sundown said. “It was more along the lines that the more we work, the more we’re going to get to where we want to go. Let’s all drink the water, follow me, I’ve been there before. I can get you where you want to go. You drink the water, you’ll go to college and they’ve been eating it up, they’re drinking it.”
Sundown lived in Arizona after attending college in New Mexico and returned to the Buffalo area in 1994 carrying the knowledge of the Navajo athletic programs with him.
He wanted to improve people’s lives on the reservation and sought lacrosse as the perfect medium. He kickstarted the Tonawanda Braves youth lacrosse program in 2001 with seven teams aged five to 21 and this became the feeder program for Akron high school.
“For that to happen here was a big deal,” Sundown said. “Now we got athletics, now we got people to be held accountable. Go to bed early, get up early, go play games. It brought everything together. The important part of it is, I used to want and wish and hope that one of our kids would eventually go to college. It’s been growing and growing and growing. I think there’s 12 right now that are in college playing lacrosse.”
Sundown was instrumental in the building of Logan Field where the Braves play their outdoor box lacrosse games.
It’s the place where Larson began his playing days at three years old. It’s also the nucleus for where Sundown began to believe he could build a sustainable winner and he knew the box style would translate to the field game.
“When I got sick of losing and started winning, I was researching, I never watched so much game film in my life,” Sundown said. “Studying coaches, studying players who won a championship, why they win, writing everything down technically, and that’s how it happened. Just wanting more for the kids that were here and wanting lacrosse to be the vehicle that would take them to see the world.”
It was announced in July of 2025 that Sundown was retiring from the head coaching role at Akron following his final Section VI Class D title.
Sundown concludes his illustrious run with a 122-43 record and the 25-year coach finished out the last few years perusing the sidelines with Larson and some of his former players on the coaching staff.
Sundown said having Larson as an assistant coach has brought his players a living image of what it takes to become a professional. The two will have the chance to share another special moment on Friday as Sundown is recognized for assembling two successful programs in Western New York.
“He’s more excited about my award than playing the game that night,” Sundown said. “He knows it’s taken a lifetime. It really has for me. 25 years is a long focus on one thing, and we got it done.”