Every year, a special group of athletes are selected to all-conference teams based on their success throughout the season in their particular sport.  It is not an easy task to earn this honor, and it is not always easy to determine who will be accepted into this group of elite athletes.

“The teams that are part of the Metro League have all-conference teams that are selected by the coaches.  There are a few sports where all conference athletes are automatically determined by how they did in their conference meet,” said Todd Zell, athletic director.

The decisions by the coaches and athletic directors are made based on the performance of each player and the requirements for the all-conference team.

“The coaches from each team get into a room together and select the players.  Coaches will nominate their own players and then there are votes,” said Cory Snyder, head varsity football coach.

After players have been nominated and the voting begins, there are many different statistics that coaches look at to decide who will be an all conference athlete.

“Coaches look at statistics from the season, statistics from conference games only, and players that stood out during games to decide the all conference team,” said Snyder.

But not every conference and sport follows the same guideline when it comes to choosing who will make the all-conference team.

“The requirements for making the all-conference team depend on the sport.  The athletic directors and coaches establish a set number of players to be on the all-conference team for each sport,” said Zell.

Nearly every sport has all-conference teams that are determined by the coaches, but there are a few exceptions.

“Boy’s swimming has a conference meet but no all- conference team, and boy’s volleyball and girl’s lacrosse do not participate in the all-conference tradition.  Every other sport has a conference team though,” said Zell.

There are many purposes for the making of an all-conference team, but the main motive is clear to all that participate in it.

“All-conference teams main purpose it to recognize students who had an outstanding season,” said Zell.

One of the ways that these talented all-conference athletes are recognized is through a banquet.

“At the end of every year, there is a banquet which recognizes the player of the year in each sport, and every all-conference athlete is invited to the event,” said Zell.

This year is Westminster’s first year fully in the Metro League, and Westminster has had great success producing many all-conference athletes.

While there always seems to be controversial picks as to who is accepted into this elite club, the goal of this club is simple: Find the most talented high school athletes and reward them for their great accomplishments in their sport.