HAGERMAN- Gary Robbins doesn't fit the stereotype of "retired." The 68-year-old is quick to smile, looks trim, wears a trendy, black Quiksilver brand cap and can outvolley even the best Pickleball players.

Pickleball is a hybrid sport that mixes tennis, racquetball, badminton and ping-pong into a quick-paced game where winning isn't dependent on brute strength and speed but shot placement and game strategy.

Robbins, of Bliss, has been hooked on the sport since he was introduced to it four years ago in Mesa, Ariz., where he and his wife, Jeri, spend half the year.

"I was invited to play by a neighbor and I played a couple rounds and it was really quite fun," he said. "The game is popular, too. Out of the 1,500 members in the park in Arizona where we go during the winter, 240 of them are members in the park's Pickleball club."

In hopes of getting more into playing Pickleball in the Magic Valley, Robbins organized a recent game in the parking lot of the Hagerman Valley Senior & Community Center and about a half-dozen older folks showed up to see what it was all about.

After setting up a portable net the Robbinses and their friends, Don and Marnee Bogle of Minnesota, demonstrated the addictive nature of the game. The Minnesota couple was driving through the area on their way to compete in the Idaho Senior Games.

Knees slightly bent and right hand gripping his paddle, Gary Robbins awaits the serve. Crouched and ready, he springs towards the perforated ball whizzing over the net and toward the center of his zone on the court.

As the ball bounces off the concrete Robbins swings his arm. With a flash of the paddle, a dull pop sounds and the ball is volleyed back to the opponents' side. Marnee Bogle steps forward, concentration piercing the air, her own paddle slices the air.

"Oh, no," she moans.

Robbins scores!

"We started playing in Minnesota," said Don Bogle. "It's addictive. The quick motions and reactions gets your adrenaline going."

The couple was excited to help bring the game to Hagerman.

"We play Pickleball everywhere we go. It's fun to show others how to play because you just know it will be something someone will enjoy," he said.

For Jim Boyle, 60, of Hagerman, the game is something he looks forward to playing again. After a couple of rounds Boyle was hooked.

"I played a lot of ping pong years and years ago," Boyle said. "But I never played Pickleball before. I didn't even know what it was. But the game was a lot of fun and it got me up and going."

Pickleball has come a long way from its humble beginnings. According to the USA Pickleball Association Web site, usapa.org, the game was invented by former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard, R-Wash.

In 1965, Pritchard's family and some friends played an improvised game on a badminton court at his Seattle home using sawed-off badminton rackets and a waffle-type ball. The game was named after Pritchard's dog, Pickles, who liked to chase after the loose balls.

Pickleball is played court style, on the same size court as a conventional 20-by-44-foot badminton doubles court, with a 3-foot-high net. The game is played with a perforated plastic ball that is volleyed with paddles slightly larger than those used for ping-pong.

Like tennis, Pickleball can be played by singles or doubles teams and follows similar rules, except that serving is done underhand. The game is won by the team that first reaches 11 points, with a two-point lead necessary.

Due to a smaller court and slower-moving ball, Pickleball was something Robbins could play right off the bat. Since he began to play Robbins has succeeded in adding the sport to the Idaho Senior Games roster and he serves as the USA Pickleball Association's Southwest Idaho ambassador.

"I am a competitive person and I could play Pickleball. The game is also a very good aerobic exercise, which I need. I'm one of those people who hate to exercise, but its fun," said Robbins. "The game is being picked up by a lot of seniors. Really, it is sweeping the nation."

Pickleball is a great way to socialize with other snowbirds the Robbinses could have otherwise never have met, like the Bogles.

"Our club does a lot together. Not only do we play Pickleball but we golf and play other sports," he said. "We have potluck socials and Jeri and I have met a lot of people and have friends all because of Pickleball."

Practicing the sport increases hand-eye coordination, balance and range of motion, and has helped Gary Robbins lose about 20 pounds.

"Increasing balance and coordination is huge for fall prevention," said physical therapist Dennis Gillette, with Twin Falls' Center for Physical Rehabilitation.

"You can have degenerative joints and compound the problem by not moving those joints," Gillette said. "You need to move those joints and stay active."

Blair Koch may be reached at 208-316-2607 or blairkoch@gmail.com.

Give Pickleball a try Pickleball games will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesdays at the Hagerman Valley Senior Center, at 140 East Lake St., Hagerman. Information on local Pickleball: Gary Robbins, 837-6271 or garysbooks1@yahoo.com. General Pickleball information: usapa.org.