In this paper, I discuss the Resident Athletic League [RAL], a sports-based 'interpersonal effectiveness' group for adolescent males in residential treatment (Linehan, 1993b, p. 115). I introduce the groupwork theories that underlie the RAL. I explain how I implemented these theories through group planning and facilitation, and I explore two examples of residents' group experience. In conclusion, I consider the emergent or synergistic quality of groups, suggesting a relationship between effective groupwork and House culture (Halperin, 2002; Forte, 2007).