Agreed. Here in CT (where I think it would be darn near impossible to get even 9 players of faith - much less the same faith, or who practiced that faith the same way - on a team), the closest I ever got to religion in sports was high school football, where our coach before we took the field for a game would say “now, let’s each in his own way, say a silent prayer, not for victory, but that no one gets knocked.” Which was about as close to the line as I'd like.
Our local high school football team does a short team prayer prior to every game. The coaches and all players are involved in that. It is pretty much the same as you are saying. Each player can silently pray in any way they wish, but it is done as a group to show unity.
Added: this is a public high school by the way...
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