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Reflecting back on my high schools sports experience, I definitely became sort of conditioned to follow the rules of the sport and the team, but I also did a LOT of thinking (maybe sports like track or swimming etc. are more conducive to thought during the sport) and a lot of what I thought about what my individual potential and how I could get better, even though I knew I was never going to be a track star...This self-reflection (and maybe a little bit of discipline) is what has carried over into my academic life, not the arbitrary rules of the sport. 

Like Jessica, I hated team sports as a kid and would have been much happier reading or playing other games, but even those experiences helped me determine what I like and don't like.  Maybe hating team sports helped push you towards drama?  I think even all of the mandatory team sports kids are forced to participate in (which can be terrible at the time)  can help teach kids what they like, don't like, and might be good at. 

Another thing we didn't talk about in terms of sports was that having kids get rid of some excess energy could be great for classroom performance.  We've talked about energetic kids before (the dancer story), and maybe even if these kids don't  always enjoy things like gym or teams, using up all of that energy could allow them to be better able to pay attention in class.