A couple of the moms and dads linger near the door and the table with donuts and coffee. They’re there but not really watching what is happening on the mat that covers the floor to the downstairs meeting room at the K of C Hall on Sandy Lane.

They know the routine and what’s happening.

The 25 boys on the mats ranging in age from 6 to 13 are paired off with the exception of one younger boy who watches and waits his turn. The boys face each other, circling and then lunging in to grab a leg and in a flash one boy is on the top of the other. The scene is repeated and repeated until Frank Gallagher tells them to switch roles and suddenly the boy previously thrown to the mat is diving in and throwing the other off balance.

The session was Saturday morning and practice for the Marshwood’s New England Youth Wrestling Invitational to be held this Saturday at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME.

Matt McGrew, who along with Gallagher and Tom Reid coach Police Athletic League wrestling, estimates more than 1,000 will be competing in the day-long event. The competition marks the conclusion of the PAL wrestling season that started in November. About 80 boys are involved in the program that participates in a Rhode Island Wrestling Association sponsored match virtually every Sunday. For the fourth consecutive year Warwick PAL is the state champ.

After wrestling in PAL many of the boys go on to high school wrestling. And some, brothers Owen and Logan Amirault, who are on the Vets team, return to their roots.

The brothers were back on Saturday, demonstrating moves as the younger boys watched and then put the instruction to use.