If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

Lessons from an unattributed African Proverb.

You’ll hear this statement in the corporate world a lot.

It’s widely cited in contexts emphasizing teamwork and collaboration, suggesting that individual effort may yield quick results, but collective effort leads to greater, more sustainable outcomes.

This saying also demonstrates the balance we face as athletes and coaches when it comes to intensity vs. consistency.

It is also something good to reflect upon as an athlete.

Famously, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant (along with many other greats from various sports) have spent over 80% of their training time alone. They chose greater intensity on a daily basis than many of their professional peers.

These are not people who miss team practices, but are doing far more than what their teammates are doing in order to chase greatness, and they would put peer pressure on their teammates to endure more, prepare better, and find the same edge they had.

In water polo, a fast-paced team sport, individual speed and skill are vital.

Water polo, just like basketball, isn’t won by solo efforts alone.

Success requires coordination, communication, and trust among teammates, whether it’s setting up plays, defending as a unit, or executing complex strategies.

Teams are can be thought of as various metals in a metallurgist’s workshop. Some are rusty heaps of iron. Commonplace and easily forgotten or overlooked. Some are rarer metals like Tungsten. Strong and hard, but all very similar. But the best teams, just like the strongest substances, are alloys. 1+1=3. Each metal combined in the proper amount and exposed to the proper heat produces something stronger than any one of its ingredients.

When each individual knows their role and can play to their strengths, and their teammates understand their respective weaknesses and can compensate for one-another, that’s where the magic happens. It requires trust and vulnerability in concert with challenging each other regularly and making practices harder than competition. When it works, it’s special.

Swimming is primarily an individual sport, where swimmers compete against the clock and their own limits. Personal effort, like focused training and technique improvement, can lead to quick results, such as shaving seconds off personal bests.

Yet, to "go far"—to achieve greatness at national or Olympic levels—swimmers are more often the recipients of a plethora of coaching and team support.

Coaches provide guidance, training partners push limits, and the team environment fosters motivation.

For water polo and swimming, the saying highlights that while individual effort can drive speed, long-term success depends on teamwork and collective support.

If you need more intensity, you are responsible for providing it.

Whether you’re aiming for a fast goal or a far-reaching career, both sports show that going together often takes you further.

So thank a teammate (or a coach) in between painful repeats, for going on this journey with you.

Take care, be well. And go be great.

Catch you poolside.