Appearances can be deceiving.
So it was in 2013 during the Catholic League’s 100-year anniversary dinner.
When Brother Rice boys volleyball coach Br. Paul Ickes arrived, he had pinned on him a flower that was supposed to be worn only by Hall of Fame members.
Only problem was, he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame.

“A lot of people thought I was in,” Ickes said with a laugh. “A few people got a hold of me and asked, ‘Are you?’ I said, ‘Well, I was given this flower, but I really don’t think I’m in.’”
He is now.
Ickes was inducted on Thursday, April 25 during the 58th annual Catholic League Hall of Fame Banquet at Crystal Sky Banquets in McCook.
“I’m humbled, thrilled,” Ickes said. “When I started the program at Rice in 1992 and I take a look at where the game is now, it’s been a privilege to have been on the ground floor and build something that hadn’t existed before.”
It was awesome touching base the other night with the man that many say is one of the “Godfathers” of boys volleyball in Illinois.
The beginning of his story is fun to tell.
Ickes grew up in Brighton Park and competed on boys and coed teams that played at McKinley and Kelly Park.
“I loved playing volleyball,” Ickes said. “I played basketball as well, but volleyball became my first love.”
He got a rude awakening one day as a freshman at St. Laurence.
“I went up to one of the brothers and asked, ‘Where do I go to sign up for volleyball?’” Ickes recalled. “He pointed toward Queen of Peace and said, ‘Go to the girls school where the girls sports are played.’ It was a different time.”

Jordan Vidovic, who coaches boys and girls volleyball at Marist, played for Paul Ickes on the 2004 Brother Rice team that finished third in the state.
Ickes was a religion teacher at Brother Rice from 1986-89. After a short time teaching in Arizona, he was transferred back to Brother Rice in 1992.
He arrived in Chicago just in time to recatch volleyball fever.
“When I got back in early June, I saw that the first state championship was being held,” Ickes said. “I remember asking a few of the brothers in the house, ‘Hey, do you want to go see the state volleyball championship?’ They said, ‘For boys? What? No.’” So I went by myself.”
He wasn’t disappointed.
“Oh, I loved it,” Ickes said. “It brought back memories of when I played. All I could think was that with Brother Rice’s location next to Mother McAuley, all of the pieces were in place to put together what I thought could be a competitive program.
“I felt it was there for the taking. I said, ‘I want to bring this back to Brother Rice.’”
During his career at Brother Rice from 1993-2014, Ickes posted a 545-248-2 record. He took five teams to state, including the 2004 team that finished third.
One of the players on that team was Jordan Vidovic, whose girls team at Marist is a two-time defending Class 4A state champion. His 2019 boys team at Marist is a state contender.
“I”m thrilled for Paul,” Vidovic said. “No one is more deserving of an honor like that. It was more than just Brother Rice, more than just the Catholic League. He is a huge part of boys volleyball in Illinois.”
Ickes isn’t a brother anymore. He left the order when he departed from Brother Rice in 2014. After a short stay as the athletic director at St. Ignatius, he’s currently living in West Beverly, taking care of ailing family members.
He hasn’t ruled out coaching boys volleyball in the future.
Now that would be a blessing.

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