The authors explored how sport structure predisposed a team to subgroup formation and influenced athlete interactions and team functioning. A season-long qualitative case study was undertaken with a nationally ranked Canadian track and field team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with coaches (n = 4) and athletes (n = 11) from different event groups (e.g., sprinters, jumpers) at the beginning and at the end of the season. The results highlighted constraints that directly impacted athlete interactions and predisposed the group to subgroup formation (e.g., sport/event type, facility/schedule limitations, team size/change over time). The constraints led to structural divides that impacted interactions but could be overcome through team building, engaging with leaders, and prioritizing communication. These findings underline how structure imposed by the design of sports impacts teammate interactions and how practitioners, coaches, and athletes can manage groups when facing such constraints. The authors describe theoretical and practical implications while also proposing potential future directions.

作者探讨了运动结构如何使团队易于形成亚组并影响运动员的互动和团队功能。与加拿大国家田径队一起进行了为期一个季度的定性案例研究。对教练（n  = 4）和运动员（n = 11）来自不同项目组（例如短跑运动员，跳投运动员）在赛季开始和结束时。结果突出显示了直接影响运动员互动的限制因素，并使小组成员容易形成小组形式（例如，运动/赛事类型，设施/日程限制，团队规模/随时间的变化）。这些限制导致了影响互动的结构性分歧，但可以通过团队建设，与领导者互动以及优先安排沟通来克服。这些发现强调了运动设计所施加的结构如何影响队友之间的互动，以及从业者，教练和运动员在面对此类限制时如何管理团队。作者描述了理论和实践意义，同时还提出了潜在的未来方向。