NORMANDY, Mo. – The community gathered at Incarnate Word Academy Wednesday to hold a prayer service for basketball coach Dan Rolfes in the hopes he makes a full recovery.

“It’s crazy you see a tragedy like this happen, but you really see a whole community come together, which is truly a beautiful thing,” Kaylynn James, basketball player, said. “And I know if Coach was here or when he wakes up, he’s gonna look at this and I feel like he’s going to be in awe.” 

The Incarnate Word Academy basketball team won their semi-finals March 15 at the Mizzou Arena. Shortly after, Rolfes suffered a medical emergency.

“We just wanted to finish what he started and he has his ongoing…streak (of) 131 wins in a row. We don’t usually talk about it but it’s in the back of our minds. We just wanted to do it for him,” Abbie Sextro, basketball player, said. 

The team went on to win the Class 6 state title three days later. The thought of Rolfes gave them the motivation to win.

“He’s impacted more lives than he’s probably realized. I don’t think he thinks he has as much of an impact as he truly does. I would just thank him for everything he’s done for me,” Sam Cavlovich, assistant coach, said.

Rolfes remains heavily sedated due to pain and that will allow his heart the proper time to recover. The team has already made plans for when he will return.

“We’re hoping we can do our banquet at the end of the year and get everyone together…we really just want to see him,” Sextro said.

The family of Rolfes was in attendance. In unison, everyone said prayers and affirmations for his recovery.