New America Media, News Report, Posted: Aug 16, 2011

Since arriving in Commerce two weeks ago, Mexican water polo player Carina Carballo and her teammates have had very little time to sightsee.

"We've done hardly anything. This is our life — we eat, sleep, and practice water polo," says the 19-year old Carballo.

This summer, the City of Commerce is playing host to the Mexican national women's water polo team now training under the guidance of Commerce's long time water polo coach Gabriel Martinez.

The team, composed of twelve players from Mexico and eight Mexican-American players recruited from Commerce, hope to make it to the Olympics in 2012. Martinez says he picked more players than would make the final team in order to keep them working hard and hungry through the summer.

The team is set to travel to China in August for a major tournament, and will go on to Guadelajara, Mexico in October to compete in the Pan American Games, a lead up to and qualifier for the Olympics.

The Olympic hopefuls train three times a day, several of them at the Commerce Aquatorium, and the rest at Fullerton College where Martinez coaches the women's water polo team. On weekends, the team's schedule is booked solid with water polo matches.

This exclusive focus on water polo is a good thing, Carballo says, because "we're in our own little bubble," protected from their usual distractions at home in Mexico. Read more here.