ORANGE One is a teenage prodigy with water polo in his blood and rocket fuel in his left arm.
The other is a former three-sport land athlete who only recently began playing water polo competitively.
One exudes a quiet confidence, a swagger as influential as his voice.
The other is an elemental leader, a program cornerstone never at a loss for words.
One is Ash Molthen. The other, Collin See. Together, they are the past, present and future of Orange Lutheran boys water polo.
“The drive to want to be real good, to be the best they can be, they both have that,” Lancers water polo coach Steve Carrera said. “Ash and Collin are like-minded, and I think that’s what attracts them to each other.”
What See, a senior, sees in Molthen is a “kid who’s coming in with a lot of pool experience, a very talented player as well as a really good young man who was brought up well and has a great attitude and a great heart.” He sees the fire Molthen has for water polo.
Molthen’s passion has rubbed off on See, an ultracompetitive athlete in his own right.
What Molthen, a freshman, sees in See is a “great leader, a good kid, a role model in school and in the pool, always one person to look up to. A person I can rely on.” He sees the leadership See brings every day to the pool. The confidence, the clout.
See’s words carry meaning, and Molten, though exceedingly talented for a 14-year-old, is absorbing all the insight he can.
“There are so many different aspects to playing at Orange Lutheran that Collin is teaching Ash,” Carrera said. “Staying down to earth, being humble. Like, ‘This is how we need to act.’”
Established as a junior varsity program two years ago, Orange Lutheran’s boys water polo program remains in its infancy, and yet the amalgamation of upperclassmen, returning lettermen and high school newcomers has this year’s troupe ranked highly in Orange County.
“It’s sort of the perfect storm,” said Carrera, who started the program in 2012. “I never would’ve expected to be as good as we are this early.”
See remembers hearing Molthen’s name this summer. Molthen had just wrapped a summer tournament in Serbia with the U.S. Men’s Cadet National water polo team – his second time playing the sport internationally.
Off a fruitful inaugural varsity season, See said he and his teammates were thrilled to have Molthen join the team and receive his contributions.
Humble and inherently quiet, Molthen said he felt uncomfortable in the summer lending advice to upperclassmen. Carrera told Molthen it wasn’t intrusive or subordinate to help coach older kids. When someone needs help, Carrera advised Molthen to step in.
Still relatively new to water polo, See benefited greatly from those summer conversations with his new teammate.
Carrera said seeing Molthen’s level of play and heeding his advice “added a new dimension to Collin’s game.” See and Molthen’s budding friendship also epitomized what Carrera envisioned his program representing: teamwork, respect, selflessness.
“Coach put it into perspective after a couple practices,” See said. “If not everything is going right, it can’t just take the senior captain to talk it out. It takes the whole team. We’ve all established a fairly good communication system, to where I can learn from Ash and Ash can learn from me.
“There’s no barrier whatsoever between the seniors and the freshmen.”
Carrera has seen this team dynamic before. In 2003, he helmed an upstart Sea View League titlist at Northwood High. Carrera said that year’s crop of freshmen put his senior-laden squad “over the top.” He credits his 2003 team’s “cycle of respect” for its laurels, a cycle of respect he sees See and Molthen nurturing this season.
“The main thing we want to get across to our players, really, is the motto of Orange Lutheran water polo,” See said. “We’re an honest, hardworking team. We earn everything we get. We’re not a team that you see our name everywhere. That’s not who we are. But we’re willing to work until we pass out to get our name there.
“Nothing comes easy,” See continued. “We have to work. We have to put our time in to get to where we want to be.”
There’s a sense of urgency to win this season, Molthen said. The underclassmen want to send the seniors out on top.
See, meanwhile, is as concerned with the program’s future as he is with its present. He took great pride in being a leader two years ago and believes greatness awaits the program and the players he’ll leave behind.
“There’s nothing but good things to come,” See said. “This is just the start of it. As we’re getting better, as we’re progressing through the rankings, that’s all good, but this team has still yet to break its barrier. We still have so much talent that’s not unleashed, and that’s there to come in the future.
“It’s been a privilege to be part of these first couple years,” See continued, “and I’m really proud of what’s already gone through.”
Contact the writer: 714-704-3790 or bwhitehead@ocregister.com
