Yesterday I realized I am not old, but I’m absurdly out of shape and no longer an athlete. Hell, I’m not even athletic.

And it’s just not me. With recreational sports kicking back into gear, hundreds of faded high school superstars will take the Comcast Center turf fields in an effort to relive their glory days.

The problem: College marks the beginning of a steady slide into achy backs and Craftomatic adjustable beds.

Team Diamondback (perhaps the most untalented, out-of-shape team ever assembled for this university’s recreational sports league) entered 6-on-6 co-ed soccer. I was a gametime decision with a swollen right big-toe that I swear looks a little purple.

Monday night, I slidetackled for the first time in about a year. Before entering college, I played soccer every fall for 13 years.

After five minutes, I was pathetically calling for a sub.

Things were only worse for senior history major Nate Fein. He sat on the sidelines, his foot propped up with a cool pack secured just above his worn brown dress shoes. Fein rolled his ankle shortly into the game.

He ran 12 seasons of cross country and track in high school and now he struggles once he reaches a mile.

“I thought I’d play forever,” Fein said. “You know when adults told you that you weren’t invincible? I always thought that was a crock of crap. Now I know.”

It’s really quite sad, realizing that from here on out, freshmen will make me look like a Catholic school girl. Experience can really only go so far.

I can’t play soccer without pulling my groin, basketball without rolling my ankle or football without wrenching my back. I can’t even play shuffleboard without straining my shoulder.

My fitness days are fleeting much quicker than my hairline. I’m only 21 years old, and I’m old. The worst part is that my heyday only lasted three years, starting with the day I beat my older brother in a footrace and ending yesterday with a throbbing toe.

Second year referee Jay Abarbanel said all of the kids he sees take the field are trying to relive their past. Well, I’m one of them. I’m going to play, even if it means my toe turns even more purple.

And then I’ll be there, sitting like Fein, with my foot propped up, telling myself I could have whooped these kids in high school. I’m out of shape, but it only gets worse from here.

Contact sports editor Ryan Mink at sports@dbk.umd.edu.