There may be no family that believes that those who play together stay together more than the Riddingers of Pelham.

Head wrestling coach Bob Riddinger, 45, has been coaching his two sons, juniors R.J. and Mark, for as long as he can remember, not only in wrestling, but youth hockey and baseball.

"I always felt that I wasn't going to stand around and be idle and it's better to be involved with your kids," said Bob. "A lot of times I'd be an assistant, anything to stay involved. They grow up pretty fast."

Riddinger, who is in his first year as the Pythons' head coach, began coaching his sons in wrestling as the Pelham middle school coach when they were in the fifth grade. But they were exposed to his practices even before that, when they tagged along as third and fourth graders.

"That was actually pretty cool," remembered R.J. "We could go out on the mat and practice moves and wrestle around anytime we wanted. But if we didn't feel like it, we could just sit around and watch."

Once they began practicing for real, Mark didn't feel completely comfortable with the situation.

"I thought it was awkward," he said. "I was seeing him like a father instead of as a coach.

"In high school, it's a lot better. I see him mainly as a coach and don't think of him as my father during practice or at a meet."

And, adds R.J., "it's become almost second nature now."

At home, the talk often centers on wrestling and, says Mark, there's an advantage to having the coach sitting across the table or at the other end of the living room.

"If I don't get a move he's teaching at practice, I can just ask him at home," he said. "It's definitely an advantage."

If the Riddinger family is largely about wrestling at home during the season, it's even more so when there is a meet. Kally, a sophomore and the lone daughter in the family, acts as the team manager, and even the crew's mother, Mary, gets in the act.

"Mary works for First Student (bus company) and she gets (assigned) a lot of our meets, so she gets to see them for free," said Bob of his wife. "It works out really well."

As far as the actual father-son coaching relationship, there have been surprisingly few problems. Both sons claim that their father tries hard to treat them no differently than anyone else.

"I hope I don't," said coach Riddinger, who grew up wrestling in Western Pennsylvania and later wrestled in the Navy after a year at Slippery Rock College. "It's easier coaching them now because they're more mature. Middle school kids can have short attention spans."

Compared to the last two years, under then-coach Derek Warshafsky, both Mark and R.J. feel that their father stresses more technique while perhaps emphasizing conditioning slightly less.

Overall, both father and sons believe that the coaching relationship has been a positive one. But, when his sons graduate in another year, Riddinger doesn't foresee giving up his duties.

"I see that (continuing to coach) happening," he said. "I coached (wrestling) before them and I'll probably keep it up."

DelaRosa mulls a decision

There are few vocational students as dedicated to wrestling as senior 152-pounder Chris DelaRosa, who was 44-4 last year and placed fifth at the New England meet.

"He just works his rear end off in practice every day," said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the state for all divisions. "He never lets up, it's unbelievable."

Even on the (every other) weeks when he works 40 hours for Electrical Union No. 3 in Cambridge, he hustles up the highway every day to get to practice. He's also a presence in the wrestling room.

For DelaRosa, who started in the sport as a freshman on the urging of 189-pound captain and friend Victor Sosa, his dedication is partly driven by his ability, which he hopes to translate into a possible New England title this year. But it's also fueled by his appreciation for all that wrestling has done for him.

"Wrestling has changed me mentally big time with my confidence, it's made me more responsible and it's made me more of a man," said DelaRosa. "I also like what it does for you. I've gotten to do a lot of traveling I wouldn't have done, and I've met a lot of good people. It's a good environment."

Taking all that into consideration, it's somewhat surprising that DelaRosa probably won't wrestle again after this year, even if he does go to college. He hasn't made up his mind.

"Right now, I'm leaning toward college," said DelaRosa, whose older brother Jonathan wrestled at Lawrence High before graduating last year. "I'd rather be the guy behind the desk giving orders than the guy taking them. I've been thinking about Bridgewater State or Springfield College."

But, says DelaRosa, even though Bridgewater and Springfield have solid wrestling programs, he probably won't join them unless wrestling is the financial reason he's at one of those schools.

"If I have to, I'll suck it up, but this is probably my last year wrestling," he said. "I want to go to college for an education."

That decision will need to be put off, however. For now, he has a specific goal in mind.

"My goal this year is to take it all (first place at New England)," he said. "I'm doing all the drilling, all the work I can to get it done."

Although Sarkis may have the highest hopes for DelaRosa, he is not the only Reggie who could score at New England. After all, Matt Buco (103), Miguel Guzman (112), Franchesco Ortiz (119) and Saul Orellana (135) are all still undefeated and Victor Sosa (189) has just two losses.

However, because of his experience, DelaRosa probably ranks No. 1 among all the talented Reggies.

"He's our best technician, probably our toughest kid, our best conditioned - he's probably our best at just about everything," said Sarkis.

WRESTLING FAB 5

The Eagle-Tribune's weekly ranking of area wrestling teams:

Team%Record

1. Timberlane%14-0-1

2. Greater Lawrence%21-0

3. Methuen%18-2

4. Central Catholic%12-5

5. Lawrence%14-4

Honorable mention: North Andover (17-7), Pinkerton (8-3), Phillips (14-1), Londonderry (10-2)