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Roy Simmons Jr. remained seated as he spoke, for the 90-year-old’s voice is now much stronger than his legs. Simmons Jr. held his microphone tightly, surrounded by his loved ones as he accepted the Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award.

There was an extra guest at the table, too. A green pot rested in front of him, a hickory sapling sprouting from it.

In forests, Alfie Jacques didn’t see trees. He saw lacrosse sticks. The Onondaga stickmaker learned to make sticks from his father, Louis, and before his death in 2023, he dedicated the rest of life to perfecting his craft. Whenever Jacques felled a tree, he placed a hickory nut in the soil surrounding it. He was a man of principle, and if he took a tree from the earth, it needed to be replaced.

Someday, Simmons Jr. will place the sapling before him near Jacques’ resting place. Decades from now, when it has fully matured, he can only hope that it’ll be used by someone who loved their craft as much as Jacques.

On Friday, Simmons Jr. and Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper Oren Lyons both received the Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award at Bellevue Country Club. Last year, former Bucknell head coach Sid Jamieson claimed the prize at the inaugural Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award Dinner. The honor, established in Jacques’ memory, is given to those who have “displayed selfless dedication and energy in growing the game (of lacrosse),” per the award’s website.

“I don’t know, if we do this award for 100 years, if we’re going to have two recipients like we have here tonight,” Inside Lacrosse founder Robert Carpenter said in his speech.

Lyons, 95, has spent decades growing the game of lacrosse and advocating for Indigenous rights as a Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper. He was previously a highly-decorated goalkeeper for the Orange, leading Syracuse to an undefeated season and national championship in 1957. After his SU career, Lyons founded and coached the Haudenosaunee Nationals, and he’s since fought for their inclusion in international competition.

Simmons Jr. helmed Syracuse’s lacrosse team from 1971-98, taking the reins from his father, Roy Sr. He played under his dad at SU, captaining the team as a senior and twice earning honorable mention All-American honors. After succeeding his father, Simmons Jr. won 290 games, claimed six national championships and qualified for 16 consecutive Final Fours. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1991, and he has a lifesize statue on Syracuse’s campus.

Roy Simmons Jr. delivers his speech after receiving his award. Simmons Jr. guided the Orange through their best stretch in program history, which featured six national titles. Courtesy of Charlie Ragusa | Haudenosaunee Nationals

When he first realized he’d won the award six months ago, Simmons Jr. joked that he didn’t know there was another award left for him to win. While he was honored, he said that he would only accept the award under one condition.

“I won’t accept it unless you honor Oren Lyons with me,” Simmons Jr. said.

The two played lacrosse together at Syracuse, graduating as part of the same class. And as they simultaneously became two of the sport’s most influential figures, they cultivated an everlasting friendship.

Carpenter, who is on the Alfie Jacques Award Dinner committee, said the committee was originally planning to honor Lyons in a different way, since there was no one more deserving of the award in his eyes. But when Simmons Jr. pushed to be celebrated alongside his longtime friend, Carpenter knew it was the right thing to do.

“They both have incredible resumés,” Carpenter said. “But I think what sets them apart from anything else is how beloved they are by the community.”

The dinner began slightly after 6 p.m. with a traditional Onondaga prayer from Tadodaho Sidney Hill, the Chief of the Onondaga Nation. After Hill’s opening, Carpenter displayed a pre-recorded video of Jacques on the television, where the stickmaker discussed his love for his craft.

Former Virginia lacrosse player Justin Giles served as the event’s emcee for the second consecutive year, introducing speakers throughout the night. Giles played under Lyons for years with the Haudenosaunee Nationals, and he faced Simmons Jr. several times with the Cavaliers.

After the video’s conclusion, Carpenter briefly addressed the crowd before handing the microphone to Lyons’ son, Rex. Before he began his speech, Rex asked the crowd to partake in a moment of silence for Mark “Red” Burnam, a Haudenosaunee lacrosse star who died on Wednesday due to cancer at the age of 64.

A few days before Burnam’s death, Rex said the Onondaga Reservation held a traditional medicine game of lacrosse, featuring nearly 100 players. Burnam watched the game from his car, moved by the outpouring of love and support shown by his community.

“Red brought us all together. They came from all the territories,” Rex said in his speech. “It’s just a testament to his character.”

Following Rex’s address, Giles transitioned to a video presentation of Lyons, where he shared stories from his career and emphasized that it is an honor to play lacrosse. Then the microphone was given to Jamieson, who formally presented the award to Lyons.

Jamieson began his speech on a humorous note, saying that he had taken his first-ever Uber to get to the event. He then began discussing his coaching career and how he ultimately became the first head coach of the Haudenosaunee Nationals. He credited Lyons for having the vision to found the team and expressed gratitude for his decision to involve him in the process.

He said Lyons was a peacemaker, an artist and someone who spoke for those who didn’t have a voice. During his speech, Jamieson recounted a time when Lyons visited his home and saw a painting of three U.S. presidents signing a document with the Tadodaho. Jokingly, he asked Lyons if there was anything he’d change about the picture. Lyons paused, chuckling to himself before he responded.

“You know,” Lyons began. “I was considering putting Nike sneakers on those guys.”

The crowd erupted in laughter as Jamieson delivered the punchline. Once he concluded his speech, he handed the microphone to Lyons, who briefly addressed those in attendance. He proudly reflected on how much lacrosse has grown in his lifetime, sharing stories from when his sticks were wooden and his helmets didn’t have facemasks.

“When we started with the Nationals, we were the fifth team in the world,” Lyons said. “It just grew. We got 94 countries playing here, it’s amazing.”

Oren Lyons speaks at the Alfie Jacques Award Dinner. Lyons played lacrosse with Syracuse but now advocates for Indigenous rights across the country. Courtesy of Charlie Ragusa | Haudenosaunee Nationals

A third video presentation followed Lyons’ speech, this one telling the story of how Simmons Jr. served as Syracuse legend Jim Brown’s personal stick doctor when he played alongside him. When it was over, Roy III presented the award to his father.

In his speech, Roy III mentioned he had the fortune of introducing his dad at his Hall of Fame induction, and he was honored to do it again. He pointed out his son in attendance, unsurprisingly named Roy IV. He made a joke about the difference between tradition and nepotism before his father spoke.

Simmons Jr. decided to tell a story about Jacques. Over the final year of his life, Jacques would often show up to his house uninvited. Louis introduced the pair to each other decades ago, and despite the fact that Jacques was over a decade younger than Simmons Jr., they shared a special connection ever since.

When Jacques visited, he’d talk about the past and the future, avoiding the present so he didn’t need to talk about how his body was failing him. In his final weeks, as his autoimmune disorder took away his ability to utilize the draw shave he used to carve out his sticks, the trees he had already split leaned against his studio wall.

Simmons Jr. laments the fact that Jacques couldn’t delegate someone to do all the things he had promised to people. He mourns all of the sticks his dear friend never got to make.

As he presented the award to his father, Roy III said the Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award trumps all the accolades his father has ever been awarded. The reason is simple.

There is no other award that has Jacques’ name attached to it.

“I’ve got a lot of awards. They’re meaningful, of course,” Simmons Jr. said. “But this is the only award I’ve gotten where there’s a close friend that’s connected.”

Published on September 13, 2025 at 6:32 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO