I play medium tier co-ed soccer, have for the last dozen years or so. I just hit 40, am slowing down and taking longer to recover from injuries. I know my time at a fun sprinting competitivish level is coming to an end but... Sure, I'll miss the new dope friend aspext of it but equally importantly, 3 nights a week for years, I've been so happy to play and for a few hours a week the world, the future, politics, none of it mattered, all that mattered was stopping the bad guys from putting a ball in the wrong place and hopefully making it go to the right place (I'm defence, that half of the field is up to the other 6)
I dunno. Hoped maybe one of you has had to do this before and can share some thoughts. (I just had my foot clipped pretty bad, know I'm out for a few weeks but just came back off another injury etc...)
Edit: Goodness gracious, you folks are all so kind and supportive. Thanks so much, I'm definitely feeling less dejected and much more hopeful about the next stage of living an active and wild life.
I have some guys in my team who are over fifty and still play every week, so it certainly is possible. One is the goalie :P The other does a lot of jogging which helps him stay fit. Stuff like yoga and calisthenics also help prevent injuries. So you might try looking into that and see if it helps you stay in the game.