Hey, Cherie!

How do you get to be in the Olympics? I don't mean how you become a gymnast or a swimmer - that's pretty obvious. But I am referring to the less known sports that are on TV now: trampoline, team handball or archery.

I am a guy who's a pretty good athlete, but not the best. I play doubles on the high school tennis team, and consider myself the third best runner on the cross-country team. I didn't make the basketball team.

I love sports and have been hooked on the Olympics, since I knew what the word meant. I have always wanted to go to the Olympics as an athlete; however, I don't really have the talent in the big sports. I figure that maybe one of the smaller sports is the answer. Do you have any advice?

— Future Olympian

Hey, Future!

So let's see, some of the more obscure Olympic sports. Table tennis? Team handball? Trampoline? Beach volleyball? Rhythmic gymnastics? Choosing to specialize in a sport that's less popular definitely makes you more competitive. It's like choosing the bass clarinet in the orchestra as opposed to the violin. On the other hand, bass clarinetists don't receive too many pieces written for them as soloists; I don't think Beethoven wrote a concerto for bass clarinet and orchestra.

But I digress. Each of these sports has a national federation or some other body in charge — except for team handball, which has no American team. There's another option, too. You don't have to compete for America. If you had some sort of tie to another smaller nation — maybe your parents came from El Salvador — you might be able to find a way to compete for that nation.

Not that you'd win, but when I watched the opening ceremonies of the games in Beijing, I realized again how many of the athletes had come halfway around the world just to compete, since they had no chance of winning a medal. It made me feel humble to see that kind of commitment and training with no chance of victory. And made me proud to be alive to watch it.

Hey, Cherie!

It's coming to the end of the summer, and I am interested in a girl counselor at the summer camp. I don't have the nerve to ask her for her e-mail address, but I'd like to stay in touch with her in the fall and maybe even ask her out.

What should I do?

— Counselor

Hey, Counselor!

First of all, you probably already have her e-mail address. I wouldn't be surprised if you got a camp directory at the start of the summer with everyone's address. But I wouldn't recommend that you use it, unless you ask her for it yourself.

You don't have to come on too strong, just tell the truth. She's either going to say yes or no. If she says yes, that's great. If the answer is no, the summer's ending soon anyway. What do you have to lose?

Cherie Bennett is a best-selling author of books for teens and young adults. Visit her website at www.cheriebennett.com. To find out more about Cherie Bennett and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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