Collingwood, developer of the First Choice program, explains how a physical training program can help young people learn to choose concrete goals, develop discipline, and become responsible members of society. In addition, he provides descriptions of specific programs, results and conclusions drawn from them, and the actual delivery of a program in terms of five components: health screening and fitness assessment; structured exercise classes; educational programming; teaching values and motivating behavior change; and support programming for adherence. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Thomas R. Collingwood has delivered and installed more than 100 physical fitness programs for at-risk youth--from suburban school youth to inner-city youth to incarcerated juvenile offenders. He developed and instituted the First Choice fitness program as a substance abuse and violence prevention intervention for at-risk youth. The program was cited as one of 20 exemplary youth fitness programs at the National Youth Fitness Summit. It was also selected by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as one of four youth fitness programs recommended for further application nationwide to meet the Public Health Service's Healthy People 2000 goals.
Collingwood developed and directed the Dallas Police Department's Youth Services Diversion Program, which reduced the rearrest rate for program youth from 50 percent to 10 percent. Started in 1974, the program was named the Outstanding Diversion Program in the State of Texas and is still in operation today. He also developed and directed the continuing education program for the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, a program that has trained more than 20,000 fitness leaders worldwide.
Collingwood has served as a YMCA director and has authored more than 100 publications in the field of physical fitness. He is a recipient of the Healthy American Fitness Leader award, presented annually by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the National JAYCEES to recognize the top 10 fitness leaders in the United States.
A fellow of the ACSM and the American Psychological Assocation, Collingwood earned a PhD in psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master's degree in exercise science from the University of Kentucky. He is president and director of his own business, Fitness Intervention Technologies. He and his wife, Gretchen, live in Richardson, Texas.
