Individual Awards vs. Team Unity

There is only one aspect of my job that I dread – all-state awards. Because, while I love to honor the athletes for their talent and effort, I hate the idea that we’re saying some players are better than others. I struggle with the definition of a most valuable player. Is it the most talented person in the classification? Or is it the player who does the most for the most successful team?
I also run into coaches who loathe individual awards because, they say, it damages team unity when you single out certain players. I have to choose a prep to honor each week and more and more I find coaches who don’t want me to give the award to one of his or her players because they don’t want to create jealousy among players.
I know individual awards are important to the teenage athletes, and really to a school’s community. But do they really hurt team unity? And if they do, should I stop doing them? Or should coaches, players, parents find a way to help players understand and put awards in perspective?