By DREW GRANTHUM / Sports Writer

I know I said last week that picking an All-County baseball team was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as a journalist.

I stand corrected; picking an All-County softball team might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

It’s almost impossible to select a team of just 14 players from a field so deep. Shelby County is just so strong when it comes to fielding diamond sports. Five softball teams alone made it to their respective state championship finals, with Pelham and Kingwood coming ever so close to taking home a trophy.

On top of those who made it to state, there has to be consideration for the teams who didn’t make it quite as far, but still had great seasons.

What it boils down to is the simple fact that for softball, Shelby County is comparable to the SEC. If your program can come out on top of the battles waged within the county, it has a great chance of going all the way.

Several of the teams play each other all season long due to AHSAA and AISA alignments, and play each other tough each time.

As tough as the matchups are, and as fierce as the rivalries can be, there is nothing but respect amongst the teams, and coaches in this area are great about noticing talent outside of their squads.

That’s one of the reasons Caroline Seitz is the 2013 Shelby County Reporter All-County Player of the Year. Her stats alone establish her as one of the most dominant players at the plate, but throughout all of the nomination process, coaches all through the county constantly brought up her name. Not just ones that faced her, or her own, but even coaches that never saw her take the field against them.

It’s tough to choose, but when a player comes with a resume as impressive as Seitz’s and recommendations to boot, it says a lot about her impact on her team.

The selection process isn’t an easy one due to the massive amount of talent located in this county, but it speaks volumes about the caliber of players and coaches in the county.