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Pompton Plains, N.J. - As Sunday's nor'easter was ending, Len Smith did what many husbands and fathers do when there's nearly 2 feet of snow on the ground. He took his family sleigh riding.
Actually, the family he took to frolic in the snow was his extended family - generally known as the Pequannock High School wrestling team.
It was a little bit of sledding, a little bit of snow football and mostly just having a good time as a team. In some form, it happens every Sunday during the wrestling season.
It's called the ''Bagel Run,'' with a different member of the Panthers responsible for supplying the bagels for the team every week. The team gathers on Sunday afternoons and finds a fun activity, other than wrestling, that they can do together. At the end of the wrestling season, the members of the team that have a perfect attendance get a Bagel Run t-shirt from Smith.
Smith, now in his 18th season as Pequannock's head coach, believes that doing things together leads to friendships and camaraderie that ultimately add up to victories on the mat. And this year is no exception, as the Panthers are headed for this week's state sectional playoffs for the 17th time in those 18 years.
''It's the season that never ends,'' Smith joked. ''We give the kids the month of August off.''
And he's right, as the high school season officially begins with practice the day after Thanksgiving and extends all the way to the second or third week of March when the individual state championships are contested in 14 weight classes.
The Bagel Run isn't the only ritual the Panthers follow. For as long as anyone can remember, Pequannock wrestlers have always eaten coffee cake before dual matches.
There's also heavy involvement by a parents group called ''Friends of Wrestling.'' But more about that later.
Overall, the wrestling season almost never stops. During the Christmas vacation, Smith's team is always entered into a local northern New Jersey tournament involving 8 or 9 teams and perhaps an independent dual meet or two. Then it's onto dual meets when school reopens, as the Panthers compete in the Suburban Division of the Northern Hills Conference and in North Jersey, Section I, Group 1.
All dual meets count toward the ultimate goal of gaining entrance into the sectional tournament. On a Tuesday in the second or third week of February, the top 6 schools in each section, according to a formula that involves power points, gain entry. The two highest seeds play host to two other schools and get a first-round bye.
The host school wrestles the winner of the two lower seeds, with the winner of that match playing the winner in the opposite bracket on Thursday for the sectional championship at the home of the highest remaining seed.
On Saturday, the four sectional champions in each group play for the state championship. The highest seed plays the fourth seed and second and third face each other. The winners play that evening for the group title, after a third-place match between the two also-rans.
In January, the Panthers play in the Morris County Tournament at Roxbury High School. And then later in February, following the sectionals, it's on to the District Tournament at West Milford High School, which leads to the Regional Tournament at Wallkill Valley High School, and finally, to the Superregionals and the state finals.
Smith is proud of the fact that in his tenure as coach, he's had 11 place winners in the state tournament. His wrestlers have won numerous individual titles at county and state tournaments, but he's still seeking the elusive sectional championship, having gone to the final four on two occasions.
So you may wonder. Do wrestling teams need a scorecard to keep track of all the permutations? ''We give them a schedule the day after Thanksgiving until the end of the tournaments,'' Smith explained. ''It's all blocked out. It's a long, long year. We try to keep things fresh and do new things in the practice room. Our goal is to be in the playoffs.''
Smith uses the Hanover Christmas Tournament, which the Panthers have participated in the last dozen years, as a gauge of where his wrestlers stand in terms of physical condition and weight class - a test drive, if you will. ''I don't really put a lot of weight in those tournaments,'' he said. ''It gives the kids a chance to see where they are.''
And Smith has no objection to going on the mat with members of his team in practice to show them how to execute various moves and escapes, although he admits that results in lots of aches and pains. ''We try to teach them and get them in the right weight class,'' he added.
The main thing, Smith says, is finding what makes his players tick. ''That's the secret of the whole thing,'' he said. ''Some of the kids in the lineup are first-year wrestlers. You gotta know a kid's personality. I have one kid who's a defensive wrestler. Another lives on the edge and there's other kids that open it up. You gotta give them the moves that fit their personalities. Some of the kids wanted to do it their way and it took a lot of time for them to realize (that the coach knew better).''
There's also a frustration factor for Smith, whose team wasn't completely healthy until recently, so he had to juggle weight classes to get his best team on the mat. The Panthers didn't win the NHC Suburban Division this year, but if there's any consolation, they recently handed league champion Caldwell a resounding 48-23 beating, giving them a 14-7 record heading into the sectional playoffs.
As for the community's involvement, each Pequannock home match is an event, with the bleechers filled to capacity. As the Panthers come out onto the mat to warm up, strobe lights excite the crowd.
The assistant coaches watch who's cheering the loudest and toss the lucky fans team t-shirts. Another ritual is that the president of the booster club wears a sweatshirt that's embroidered on the sleeve with his or her name on it. The sweatshirt is passed on to the next president, who does the same.
There is also a team t-shirt that has been passed on from wrestler to wrestler over the years at Recognition Night. The wrestler signs the t-shirt and passes it on to a member of next year's team. Media Night includes a spaghetti dinner.
The Friends of Wrestling also sponsor an annual banquet, where an 80-page team book is available. The book contains player biographies that Smith writes.
Finally, throughout Pequannock, each wrestler gets to put their own personal sign on his house, designating ''Home of,'' using the player's name.
That's so everyone in town knows where to get a good bagel.
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