There must be someone to guide the team through the trials and tribulations it will face. Sports teach us that at times, authority figures can be all right. Students of a sport soon learn that the weird boy from third hour really can run, shoot or throw, and that it really doesn't matter that he looks different than everyone else. They learn that differences often mean different abilities, ideas and perspectives. They learn to find what people have to offer and to compensate for what they lack.
Sports teach acceptance.
The lesson that sticks out most to people who have played or now play a team sport is the simple fact that a game cannot be won by one person. One learns there is a time to go for the final shot and there is a time to pass the ball to a teammate with a better chance, and that sharing the weight of the game does not make one weak but strengthens the team as a whole. Sports teach people to give and take. Soon after beginning a sport, athletes notice the people around them are not only teammates but also competitors. They see that in striving to become better players, they must strive to be as good or better than their teammates - without bitterness, anger or frustration.