The U.S. Nationals Championships are only a few days away, and everybody who is a true wrestling fan is getting excited about the possible matchups in the Senior Nationals. Whenever America's best men's freestyle, women's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman wrestlers get together for a major competition, there is a lot to look forward to.    Those that enjoy the best of high school wrestling will also get their fill when they come to Las Vegas this year. The Western Junior Regional Championships has become a truly national event, with top Junior wrestlers from across the nation coming to the desert to test themselves. You can bet that you will see many young stars who will be go on to great careers in college and beyond.    But one of the unique aspects of the U.S. Nationals week every year is the Veterans Nationals competition.     That right, Veterans means older wrestlers. Some sports call these athletes "Masters" competitors. In wrestling, they are 35 years old and above. They are our ancient warriors, our true wrestling die-hards. You may see a few guys out on the mat with white hair (or no hair) and perhaps less than the Greek-god body builds of the stereotypical young wrestler. This is their week in the sun.    In many sports, "Veterans" competitions thrive. I always hear from my peers in swimming about the large number of Veterans athletes they have, people who train and compete in swimming all of their lives. Certainly, sports like track and field also have a thriving system of competition for their adult populations. I guess you can have a race no matter how old you are. It may take longer, but somebody ends up winning.    Somehow, wrestling is different. When you explain the sport to somebody for the first time, it goes something like this: "You don't PLAY wrestling." I remember a high school teammate who explained his strange attraction to the sport like this: "Wrestling isn't fun. It's rewarding."    Wrestling is demanding, both physically and mentally. In addition, the strict weight management that is often a part of the sport is also something that makes is even tougher. Why would anybody want to wrestle after their college or international careers are over? The idea of a man over 40 years old wearing a singlet is a little scary, let alone that man getting on a mat and banging heads in wrestling competition.    Well, if you get a chance in Las Vegas, maybe you should ask these guys. I'm sure they will tell you all about it. These guys love wrestling, and they are not shy about it.     Occasionally, you will recognize the names of the athletes in the Veterans competition. Joe Gonzalez, an Olympian and World medalist, has entered a few years. Dan Chaid, always a runner-up at our World and Olympic Trials, has thrived as a Veteran, winning World titles at this level. Joe Seay, head coach of the U.S. teams that won the World Championships and Olympics, is also a guy who likes to compete at the Veterans Nationals.    The king of Veterans athletes in the United States is the bearded wonder, Russ Cozart. He has won numerous World titles on the Veterans level. He never has a close match at the U.S. Veterans Nationals. He is also the head coach at Brandon High School in Florida, the program that has won the most consecutive wrestling dual meets in history, a streak that has spanned generations and is still going strong. Last year, Cozart was busier coaching his sons in the Western Junior event in Las Vegas than in his own competition at the Veterans Nationals.    Most of the times, you have not heard of these guys (unless you are a fan of the Veterans level and read the results each year). These athletes come from everywhere in the nation. Usually, they are coaching younger athletes in clubs, working out with the kids to keep their own competitive edge. They still enjoy the burning in their lungs when battling late in a match. They still are willing to deal with the total body soreness.    These guys are hard. Instead of getting soft in their adult years, they have chosen to compete in the toughest sport in the world. They may not be as strong, quick or flexible as they used to be. But they still have the competitive spirit, and are willing to sacrifice to be the best that they can be. You know what they say: if it was easy, anybody could do it.    You have to admit that wrestling will never be a recreational sport. It's not like cycling, or bowling, or tennis or golf. Wrestlers may have a passion to work out, but it takes a lot of extra commitment, courage and craziness to step out on the mat for battle in actual matches.    The idea of a "Rocky" story in international wrestling is pretty hard to believe. Athletes don't come out of the woodwork and suddenly win World and Olympic medals anymore. It takes years of high quality coaching, training and competition to reach the highest levels. Sure, there are upsets, but there are really no "nobodies" who make it on the Senior level.    Veterans wrestling is a different story. An older guy who still has the fire in his belly can train and win as a Veteran. He can put in the time, reach out for coaching, travel to events, and actually reach a goal. He can run the beach late at night, pushing himself to the limit. He can bang the weights to keep his strength up. A Veterans wrestler really has a chance to go to into battle, and yell "Yo Adrienne" (or something like that) to his wife and family after winning a national title. It's true because I have seen it happen.    A few years ago, I let Joe Seay talk me into saying that I would try to compete as a Veteran some day. Every once in awhile, he will remind me that I said that, especially when he sees that I have done nothing at all to get in shape.    Man, I wish I had the discipline and the focus to try that for just one year. Instead of working so dang much on my job, and spending my occasional free minute with my family, I'd like to give competitive wrestling a try again. I have never felt better than when I was in my absolute best shape during my college wrestling career. I have never felt as satisfied as when I pushed myself to complete exhaustion in a very close match. I could do it, I really could...    The chances of that happening are probably lower than winning the lottery, so I guess I will just have to admire the other Veterans in Las Vegas from the sidelines, and occasionally write something about them that explains why they are such impressive people. Good luck this week, all you Veterans. Whether you know it or not, you are truly an inspiration.      TheMatside View is scheduled to appear on Tuesdays.