Gary Sundown has been named the recipient of the 2025-26 John Faller Memorial Award, which recognizes significant contributions to lacrosse in Western New York. Sundown is known for building a strong lacrosse program at Akron High School and for fostering community through the sport on the Tonawanda Reservation.
Sundown was previously honored as the 2022 USA Lacrosse Boys High School Coach of the Year in Section VI. Reflecting on his award, Sundown said, “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. 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.”
The award will be presented on Friday during a Buffalo Bandits game against the Ottawa Black Bears. Larson Sundown, Gary’s son, plays for Ottawa.
Sundown helped launch Akron’s lacrosse program in 2000 after working with younger players in the district’s modified program. Early seasons were challenging due to lack of wins and difficulties retaining players. However, interest grew as Sundown developed a strong lacrosse culture within the reservation community.
Under his leadership, Akron won eight Section VI titles and two regional championships. This included five consecutive sectional titles across Class C and D divisions.
“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.”
Sundown emphasized traditional Haudenosaunee values associated with lacrosse—often called “The Creator’s Game”—and taught lessons about respect and perseverance rooted in community stories.
He recounted sharing past struggles with his teams: “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,” he 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.”
After attending college in New Mexico and living in Arizona for some time—where he learned from Navajo athletic programs—Sundown returned home in 1994 aiming to improve life on his reservation through sports.
He established the Tonawanda Braves youth lacrosse program in 2001 for children aged five through twenty-one; this initiative became an important source of new players for Akron High School’s team.
“For that to happen here was a big deal,” Sundown said regarding starting youth athletics locally. “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… I think there’s 12 right now that are in college playing lacrosse.”
Sundown also played an important role in creating Logan Field for outdoor box lacrosse games—a site where his son began playing at age three.
“When I got sick of losing and started winning,” Sundown explained about improving results at Akron High School by studying successful coaches closely: “Studying coaches, studying players who won a championship… writing everything down technically… Just wanting more for the kids that were here and wanting lacrosse to be the vehicle that would take them to see the world.”
In July 2025 it was announced that Sundown would retire as head coach following another sectional title.
