Not everyone can be a varsity athlete at the collegiate level. It’s simple, really. The level of competition escalates, there’s more of a work load to shoulder, the time spent preparing for each game increases and you just don’t have the time to devote six or seven days a week to a sport you love.

If this sounds like you, then why not try an intramural sport for the fall semester? These sports are competitive, fun, and they’re free! Free is always a good thing when you’re in college.

During the first month of the semester, five different intramural leagues are being offered for any student to sign up for and try.

Maybe you played baseball in high school, but haven’t been at your right weight since or just haven’t got back into the swing of things. Try intramural softball. Softball even without the coolers of beer to accompany you is a good time.

Play on the Beacon’s home softball diamond right outside of McCormack. It’ll be like revisiting those days of little league, where the fences are 200 feet, the pitching is slow and the bats are huge. Sign up by Sept. 11 so you can crank homeruns over the fence on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 5 starting on Sept. 13.

“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball,” Patches O’Houlihan once said. If you can dodge a wrench, then you can dodge a ball, and therefore you can play intramural dodgeball. C’mon, what game was more fun than dodgeball in elementary school?

Go ahead; drill the fat kid with the glasses and the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” tie-dye shirt on. Bring back those memories and join an intramural dodgeball team this semester. Make Patches O’Houlihan proud and sign up by Sept. 14 so you can pop people in the face starting on Sept. 18. And remember, dodge, dip, dart, dodge.

Maybe you’re not the second coming of David Beckham or Zinedine Zidane, but you’ve played a bit of soccer in your lifetime. Whether it was at the age of six in a youth league where everybody played and the parents screamed at the coaches, or in high school when you slide-tackled that kid who called you a *%&&$.

Soccer is a fun game, especially when there are only three people per team and no goalies. Get a couple friends together and sign-up for the 3-on-3 by Sept. 19, or the 6-on-6 by Sept. 17. Join the soccer league and rip it up like you were in your hay day. Just one thing: no metal cleats please. Legs don’t have holes for a reason.

Service! Are you the volleyball type? This is yet another way to get some much needed exercise after that 2:15 a.m. Wendy’s run. If you’re not a very good volleyball player, don’t worry about it. The people you’ll be competing against probably aren’t exactly Kirk Kilgour either. Volleyball is another intramural sport that is enjoyable and an easy place to meet new people. Make sure you sign-up by Sept. 21 or you won’t be able to make any kills when the fun starts Sept. 28 at 5:30.

For more information on intramurals of any kind, go to the UMass Boston Web site, click on Athletics and look for the intramurals link. Everything you need is there. Just print a signup form, fill it out and turn it in.

You can’t be lazy all the time, so play an intramural. You might enjoy it.