SLIPPERY ROCK — Racquetball is nothing if not versatile.

It's good for the old and young. It's good for physical and mental conditioning. It's good for men and women.

Greg Sferra, 52, the adviser of the Slippery Rock University's racquetball club, has seen people play the sport into their 80s. The club is open to anyone who wants to play, including men and women of any age.

"One of the neatest things is it's physically good but mentally there's a lot of good pieces too," said Sferra. "Plus the camaraderie (among players) is great too."

The sport is a relatively new club sport at SRU, according to Sferra.

The club has about 20 members, but about 75 to 100 people use the university courts in any winter week.

At Morrow Field House, there are five courts. Three of those are closed and two have glass at the ends so spectators can watch.

Participants in the SRU club mostly play for fun and exercise, but Sferra tries to plan an occasional tournament.

Talking about the tournament the club hosted in February, Sferra said, "We want to expand and have our players play elsewhere as well. We'd like to make it a team sport here."

The sport is good for keeping hand-eye coordination sharp. There is skillful footwork needed as well, an aspect that makes the sport good training for football and other sports, he said.

Travis McDougall, 17, agrees with other players that racquetball is a fun sport that keeps him healthy. But there is more to his playing. It's good training for the other two sports he plays, football and baseball.

McDougall, a Slippery Rock High School senior, said playing with four players on the court makes the sport high contact.

"You usually get hit a lot more," he said, pointing to a ball-shaped bruise on his upper arm.

Sferra's son, Nick Sferra, 18, has been playing for about four years, mainly because his father got him interested.

The Slippery Rock High School senior likes the pace of the game: "It's fun, exciting and fast paced. You can hit people and hit the ball as hard as you can."

Sometimes the balls can travel as fast as 180 mph, he said.

Often paired up with Sferra in one-on-one matches, Gene Allison, 53, said he enjoys being around all types of people of all different ages.

Twenty years ago, his brother, who was home from college, made Allison play the game and he was soon hooked. He's been playing ever since and enjoys being part of the SRU club.

"It's always good to play people with different styles," he said. "The more people you play, the better you are."

"The beauty is anybody can play," he said. "All you need is a desire to play."

There is a somewhat high risk of injuries in the sport. Allison said he's seen a few men injure hamstring muscles and one man even lost an eye playing ball. The ball hit him in the eye at full force and the eye later had to be removed.

Jeremy Gepheart, 19, president of the SRU Racquetball Club and a sophomore at SRU, hopes to expand membership in the next few years.

He said the aspect of the game that appeals to him is the emphasis on the individual, not a team.

"My main reason I like it is that if you mess up, it's your own fault," he said.

Mark Wabiszewski, 22, vice president of the club, likes the exercise factor.

"It's competitive and a really good workout," he said.

Greg Sferra said he enjoys the sport himself, even though his son often beats him in a match.

"That's what I want, though," he said. "I want him to be better than me."

Otherwise, it's the competition and camaraderie that keeps him involved with racquetball, he said.