Dan Dwyer never planned on being a volleyball coach.
As a youngster, he often practiced with his older sister, Gina, who starred for the volleyball team at Queen of Peace High School. During his high school days, Dwyer played a ton of sand volleyball, and he went on to play for the club volleyball team at Marquette University.
After graduation, a chance encounter with Br. Rice Coach Br. Paul Ickes led to a coaching career for Dwyer that lasted more for than three decades.
Ickes was starting the volleyball program at Br. Rice, Dwyer’s alma mater, and Dwyer asked a simple question,
“You looking for coaches?”
The answer to that inquiry led Dwyer to 31 seasons with the Crusaders volleyball program, including the last 10 as its head coach.
However, this will be Dwyer’s last campaign after deciding to retire as volleyball coach at the end of the season. A longtime theology and social studies teacher at Br. Rice, he will remain on the faculty and will continue to coach the bowling team.
In recognition of his dedication to Br. Rice volleyball, Dwyer was honored on May 15 before the annual rivalry match against Marist, and in front of a home crowd full of Br. Rice volleyball alumni, the Crusaders showed their love with an exciting 27-25, 16-25, 25-20 victory.
“I had absolutely no idea I’d get into coaching. It literally fell into my lap when [Ickes] started the team,” Dwyer said. “Those first years were ugly. We knew volleyball but didn’t know how to coach volleyball. I tried as much as I could. We started in 1993, but three years later, we were in a sectional championship.”
Entering the 2023 season, Dwyer had compiled an impressive 168-86 record over the last nine seasons, including Chicago Catholic League (CCL)-Blue titles in four consecutive seasons, 2015-2018. In 2017, Br. Rice finished fourth in state.
On May 18, Br. Rice clinched the CCL-Blue championship with a three-set win at Loyola Academy.
Dwyer’s youngest son, Luke, a senior, is a two-year starter at setter for the Crusaders; his oldest son, Dan, is the sophomore volleyball coach at Br. Rice; and his middle son, Jimmy, coached at Cardinal Stritch University before the school recently announced its closure.
During the Marist match, the Dwyer boys were with their dad on the bench and on the court.
“I loved having Jimmy and Danny with me on the bench,” Dwyer said. “Jimmy is a better volleyball mind than I am. I’ll bounce things off him in the middle of the match. He’s like I was when I first started.”
Having coached Danny and Jimmy during their days at Br. Rice, Dwyer couldn’t pass up the chance to end his volleyball career with Luke.
“Going out with Luke was a big part of it,” Dwyer said. “But, I’m not going to lie; I’m kind of burned out. That fire, that passion to really get after it, it’s there now and then. Matches like tonight, it’s great. When we’re not playing someone so strong, being on the bus for an hour and a half, eating [fast food] at night, it’s almost like I feel it’s run its course.”
Before becoming head coach, Dwyer was a longtime assistant to Ickes, a coach known as a legend throughout the sport of boys volleyball. However, Br. Rice student/athletes weren’t the only ones who benefitted from the many hours Dwyer put in as a coach; his kids also learned to play the game.
Dwyer has five children, including two daughters, Shannon and Michaela, and the kids grew up around the Crusaders. At early-morning weekend practices, the youngsters would often tag along and hang out on the stage in the gym whiling their time with their favorite doughnuts.
As the kids got older, they eventually took part in team practices by assisting athletes during warm-up drills.
“As soon as Danny was 6 or 7, he was down here on the court peppering with the kids,” Dwyer said. “They were just born into it. They can all play.”
Luke Dwyer will continue his academic-athletic career at Aurora University.
Dwyer has been Luke’s coach since fourth grade at St. Catherine of Alexandria Elementary School, excluding his sophomore year when he was on the junior-varsity team.
“Sometimes, you mess up in a game, and he’ll give me a little snarky comment. I’ll say, ‘Shut up, please!’” Luke said with a laugh. “My dad has been there pretty much my entire life teaching me volleyball. I grew up with the team, so it’s been amazing.”
Marist Coach Jordan Vidovic was a star player for Br. Rice during his standout high school career before going on to play for Lewis University.
Vidovic, a 2005 Br. Rice alum, said he played for Dwyer, an assistant coach at the time, and Dwyer always had a knack for keeping things in perspective, especially for a young freshman up on varsity.
“You’re playing in these big games all the time. It’s tough mentally,” Vidovic said. “I can remember him being the one who sat next to me on the bench and cracked a joke or two that had zero to do with volleyball, lightening it up a little bit and taking that stress away. He’d put his arm around you, say something to calm you down and get back into the match.”
Br. Rice earned the No. 2 seed at its own sectional. The Crusaders opened the state playoffs on May 23, after press time, against Oak Forest/Bremen in a regional semifinal.
With the pre-game ceremony and win against Marist, it was a special day for Dwyer.
“Seeing former players come back now with their kids, it’s big,” he said. “The volleyball community is such a tight-knit group. I had coaches and refs contact me saying, ‘Good luck!’ It’s fun hearing from those people. The relationships are the most important.”
On May 30, a potential rematch looms with Marist, the No. 1 seed, should the rivals advance to the sectional championship.
Dwyer said he expects the Crusaders to close the season out strong, and he will wait to enjoy a less hectic schedule—but it will be worth the wait.
“I’ll go out and enjoy going on spring break,” he said, “and having a little more time instead of practicing.”
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