Dr. Thomas also has taught at Arizona State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, and Southern University at Baton Rouge. Her research and numerous publications focus on skill acquisition in sport and exercise and the relation of physical activity to health. She has external grant funding in excess of $1,000,000 to study physical activity and is the physical activity consultant for the USDA's Team Nutrition. However, Dr. Thomas says that the most relevant experiences to the writing of this book were her early positions as a graduate assistant and as an instructor in elementary schools and a college teaching laboratory. Those experiences enabled her to find out firsthand what does and does not work in a physical education class.