Todd Hermetz, Cullman — 2016 Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame inductee

Todd Hermetz simply felt fortunate to make every team he ever played on.

And, in full disclosure, he made an awful lot of teams.

Football, basketball, tennis, track, swimming and baseball. The 1980 Cullman High grad played ’em all. Exceptionally well at that.

It’s precisely the reason he was picked as one of the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame’s newest inductees.

“I wanted to really be involved in whatever sport was happening that season,” Hermetz said. “I always wanted to be a part of it, even if it was a day off of one sport and there was a track meet going on, I would want to be in the track meet. If there was more time in the year, I would’ve probably done more because I really loved it and loved the people that were part of it.”

Hermetz and the 12 members of the Hall’s 17th class will officially be installed during a banquet Saturday at the Civic Center.

Like so many others, the all-around athlete was “humbled” and “shocked” to make the honorary cut.

“I just always felt very privileged to play sports and just make the team,” he said. “So to be selected for something like this, it’s just an honor and completely unexpected. I just feel honored to be a part of this group and the tradition of sports in Cullman County.”

Hermetz lettered in football three years and one in basketball while with the Bearcats. He contributed to state tennis titles in 1978 and 1979 and was a three-time state champion.

Hermetz, a split end, was Cullman’s leading receiver and permanent captain as a senior.

While spreading oneself so thin would’ve been beyond tiring to most, Hermetz had a good idea what kept him constantly energized.

“I don’t actually think there’s anything exhausting as a teenager,” he said. “It’s exhausting when you get to be my age now. This is one thing I can definitely point back to — there was a clear ethic from Cullman High School football. I think there was a level of work ethic that they held us to, that they drove us to be our best. The practices and preparation were tough and they pushed us to reach our limits of our abilities, but it also showed us that we could also do more and that we could be more.

“I don’t think I really knew what hard work was except for Cullman football.”

Hermetz went on to attend Davidson on a four-year football scholarship.

But, in true Hermetz fashion, he couldn’t just stop at one sport. An opportunity presented itself in baseball — which he’d passed up for tennis in high school — and he took it, eventually earning a starting spot in center field.

Imagine that.

Following the conclusion of his own playing career, Hermetz enjoyed coaching stints with the Cullman Swim Team and various other youth sports. Each gave him further appreciation for past coaches at Cullman like Del Brock, Jerry Elmore, Greg Patterson, Jimmy Hutchison and Don Wilbanks.

Hutchison and Wilbanks have already made the Hall, and Hermetz will be inducted alongside Brock come Saturday.

“I played for some of those guys. They had a big impact on me,” Hermetz said. “I still look at my time in sports and I think of the coaches, the good Christian men, the good character-building men that taught us discipline and hard work. In my view, those are the people that really need to be honored for this type of process, not some of the individual contributors like myself.”

Hermetz currently works in South Carolina as the manufacturing director of four plants for a company called Solvay. He runs in one or two 5Ks a year, the occasional half-marathon or marathon and encourages his employees to pursue healthier lifestyles.