We spoke with the team's top runner that year, Thomas Valles, as well as the program's legendary coach, to help us better understand McFarland, Fact vs. Fiction. At about 3:30 p.m. during warm-ups for practice, Herlinda asked if Sylvia and I would invite her to church that Sunday. Disney took a few creative liberties with creating the feature film, Valles said. ", "Thomas he made a big impact on our life," White said. They became my kids, proclaims White. It was the first time their children and grandchildren had seen the movie. "When the movie came out, I was kind of in denial. This book is about the chain affects of the shooting of Khalil and what Starr does after to protect his. It was a gesture by runner Hollie Wykoff's mom to help the girls feel better as they dealt with their grief after teammates Sylvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez were killed in a practice accident two and one-half weeks earlier. The movie pushes up his arrival and coaching position at McFarland to 1987, the first year his cross country team attended and won the state championship (1987 was also the very first year that California had a state championship). -KGET 17. Johnny is an educator and is still coaching. Jim was known for being a tough coach by his runners but also for his selfless acts of helping out with the boys, the town and the church. Yes, the McFarland High boys did win a team title at the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships held in 1987. David Diaz is behind Victor wearing a white t-shirt and McFarland hat. But then it was nervous time. White said he left Stockton to visit his parents for Thanksgiving. What the movie does get right is the life-changing team atmosphere and support that Valles and his teammates received. His father was an abusive alcoholic, he said. There was alcohol or drug abuse in their homes. "Jose Cardenas had had a bad race," Valles recalled recently about his teammate who was the team's seventh runner that day, finishing 148th. McFarland had four in (31 points) before Stevenson's No. -LA Times. Danny's brother. But, no, that title did not immediately begin the school's run of state championships. GREAT GREAT GREAT MOVIE! 5. Hey were in a Gifted class and were doing a Documentary in National History Day and wed like to interview you for a primary source for McFarland, USA. "She was nerdy, funny and wanting to please. This is part of a series of articles looking back at the 1987 CIF-State Cross Country Championships, the first in California. Jim White is to Thomas' right and Gary Adams is to White's right. My wife reminds me who I am when I get home.. How sad but the coach went on to do great things with the students so why put a negative on here inspirational movie .Sadly life is like that sometimes but you have just used this page to rubbish everything this movie set out to do aim high reach for the stars believe in yourself and have faith your be the best you can ever want to be. Low near 35F. Please contact us cottenzane@gmail.com with this Email. "We're going to go out and try to win the state title.". Heck, we girls could have beat them up," she says, delivering a good-natured salvo to her former teammates. By Carlo Vellandi Nov 22, 2022. children ran for Jim White and all seven McFarland, USA (also known as McFarland) is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Antnio Pinto.The film was co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mayhem Pictures. On occasion, he said, the boys would have to work in the fields on a Saturday morning before going off to a meet that afternoon. Et que tu t'enfuies la queue entre les jambes aprs qu'on t'ait expropri pour rcuprer notre d, celui que ta classe exploiteuse nous a vol ! Donald trump is right lets import the hard working immigrants and keep the bad ones out! DMCA NoticesNewspaper web site content management software and services. Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasnt stopped at 52. : The actress is best known for her role as Lulu Hogg, the wife of Boss Hogg, on the classic "Dukes of Hazzard." She was also on "The Waltons" and "Step by Step." "Grace Under Fire" would be her last acting job as she retired after the show's cancellation and passed away on February 5, 2011, at the age of 89. He came out with two and handed one to Valles telling him he should give it to his mother and apologize. That's OK. We're doing it for our kids, we'll do it for you. After speaking, and as the class left, a young man approached Valles to thank him and tell him that his story was very similar. That streak ended while the movie was in production, after the small school was elevated to Division I status, a byproduct of their success. The six-part series . Everybody has a Jim White in their lives, Valles said, referencing his famous high school coach. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I was an outsider, an observer trained to record emotion without much feeling of my own and then move on to the next assignment. A cleat, a shoe 2. PE teacher in McFarland, an economically inspired to strive for something beyond ', "Thomas was at our house almost every day.". Valles, his coach Jim White, and six teammates were the CIF California State Cross Country Champions in 1987. Those kids were good students. But he never truly felt he made amends for that with his mom. My parents always encouraged us to work hard.. Were you an athlete, coach, organizer who took part in the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships in 1987? Retired - living in McFarland. Winds light and variable. PE teacher at McFarland MS. McFarland HS varsity girls basketball coach. A good student, she dreamed of continuing her education after high school and of visiting Hawaii. WABC 11/5/2021. Sometimes [our success is] a hindrance because the kids say, Well, I can't do that, or I can't be as good as this person or that person, coach White explains. She eventually concluded that it was good for them as long as they still worked. A recent gathering of Norma Lopez Takahashi, Flora Diaz and Dolores Plata Rodriguez with Sylvia Diaz's photo album. 2023 2019 ABG-SI LLC. He coached Valles in elementary physical education. However, similar to the film, Jim White had never been a runner himself and used the bike to follow the team during their workouts. ", White said Diaz was about 110 pounds as a sophomore in 1987. Terms of Use She never held back when it came to laughing, making people laugh, and just being downright silly. Occupation Actress Years active 1985-present Spouse(s). David Diaz remains actively involved in the program, Valles said.). Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. Included in the segment, titled "McFarland's Family of Champions," are Danny Diaz, daughter Delia Diaz, Gabriel Diaz, Damacio Diaz, David Diaz, Diego Diaz, and father and mother Paul and Juanita Diaz. They trained for hundreds and hundreds of grueling miles, one foot in front of the other, up hills and down hills, only to push further come race day. Delano Now We were undefeated in '86 and now we had the opportunity to have a state championship team. The principal shook his head. White. An avid runner, to say the least, Valles accepted . Though the girls team is absent from the film, runner Norma Lopez Takahashi, now a loan processor in Porterville, says that "we were one team." Retired as a correctional officer. Eventually sophomore Danny Diaz crossed in 91st (68th) to close out the scoring. Coach Jim White challenged him and his peers to run. They still live in McFarland and still want to make a difference in the community.". Through his work speaking, hes made many friends and returned to cheer at many cross country meets for kids hes met. Ellysa Harris is the editor for the Plainview Herald. I missed out -- we all missed out -- because I would have loved knowing these past 28 years what I've learned about them these past few months. Dad didnt want us in the calles, in the streets, Valles said. Diaz, Damacio Diaz, David Diaz, Diego Coach White is a graduate of Pepperdine University, . In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers. We all have opportunities to inspire every person we meet every day. Valles' story was featured in the Disney movie "McFarland USA.". Primary filming took place in McFarland, California in 2013. Julie, and Jamie, and four grandchildren. Its the last six miles that get you., We always think back and wish we could have done this or that, Valles said. He said the high school had 4,000 students and he "felt like a number." Let's not slack off.". The 1986 McFarland High girls cross-country team. Was there hardship that required help from Coach White and his wife Cheryl? One day his mom had enough, he recalled. Valles explained that White had observed him going for a six-mile jog-walk record "trying to be the top guy. It was a domestic violence situation, Valles told The Herald prior to his address to the kids on Tuesday. ', "After awhile, I realized there is some hints of my true story.". -BakersfieldCalifornian.com, Yes. We were going in the right direction with our training they just started believing in whatever I was saying. He then taught seventh and eighth grade woodshop and PE for 11 years at McFarland Middle School, and then switched to just teaching PE and coaching the high school cross country team. The legendary former McFarland While a course at Griffith Park has been used for meets in the past -- meets White said that included McFarland -- it was never used for the CIF-State Meet. Flora Diaz, now a teacher at Pixley Middle School, was 11 when Sylvia died. Cross country is an individual sport; no matter how well your team does, you still have your own time. "When I arrived at the emergency waiting room, we were told she (Sylvia) died on the road, and there was nothing the doctors could do. March 29, 2022, 12:48 PM PDT. They worked hard. What we are reminded of is that McFarland USA is based on a true story but it is not a documentary. Juanita Diaz. Not long after, their car is confronted by a group of punks that bother Javi. on their time as cross country runners We still run the same roads, along the same fields, just with different kids. Herlinda was bound for greatness and every year during cross-country season, when the hot summers start to dissipate and the leaves start to change colors, I am reminded of how sensitive life really is. The film also shows a chubby runner named Danny Diaz rallying late to secure the team title. "That's how we developed that. Julie and Jami are depicted in the McFarland, USA movie. Life went on.. Its not part of the movie, but the team was, obviously, grieving and impacted deeply. -LCU.edu, Yes. The circumstances brought Valles to a low point. challenged town in California's farm-rich Just like that, the town's emerging bright light -- a cross-country program enjoying success even before 1987, the year depicted in the film -- was immersed in heartbreak. He offers the kids a chance The McFarland girls arrived for the CIF Central Section South Area meet on Nov. 13, 1986 in a limousine. His family was dysfunctional. I thought that was normal. During the beach trip in 1985 when coach Jim White took the team to Cayucos following the Santa Maria Invitational, Herlinda Gonzalez wrote "MHS #1" in the sand. McFarland was that 'small' then and is still today. ", "Some of the boys had never been to the ocean," White said. The anchor of the cross country team and the reason they won state. We didnt win overnight. ", "That was Hollywood," Valles said. I never photographed or met Sylvia Diaz or Herlinda Gonzalez, but the memories of the pictures I took in the aftermath of their deaths in 1986 would impact me deeply and remain with me through the remainder of my photojournalism career. Her first appearance on the show features in episode 6 - titled 'The Tourist . "Sometimes a setback like that brings people and teams closer and more intimate with each other, and we found ourselves running for McFarland, Mr. White and most importantly, for each other.". "We couldn't go out there and run those things," White said. Kevin Costner plays a high-school football coach who ends up leading a cross-country track team made up unlikely students to a state championship. "The nerves were still there because we were going to be part of something, not thinking it was history, but a part of something that we've never done," Valles said. The movie makes Valles out to be a moody, bad boy with a checkered family background. Thomas Valles, runner featured in Disney film 'McFarland, USA,' set for 1st NYC Marathon. "We had no idea, with him not performing that day, if we'd actually won it. Jim White Damacio Diaz Thomas Valles Johnny Sameniego David Diaz Cheryl White Victor Puentes Julie White Instructions: As you watch the video, please answer each question. At the Kern Invitational on Nov. 1, 1986, five days after the accident that took the lives of Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz, team member Tammy Carter collapses into the arms of McFarland girls coach Gary Pierson. Pow. Julie K. White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. I told them I was but our goal is to win as a team.". "Things that Mrs. Diaz did (in the film), that's what Cheryl was doing. He got drunk one day with some senior teammates after practice. Education, law enforcement, business owners. The real Jim White and wife Cheryl White actually have three daughters, Tami, Julie and Jami. Dave Thomas. We're still here hopefully trying to make a positive difference in our communities.". "He had to be wondering, 'Hey, what am I doing up here?' Valles friend Ernie Bueno, who introduced Valles to Killian, asked Valles to participate in a Run to End Duchenne at the 2021 New York Marathon. This photo ran in The Californian the next day. Victor Puentes is just to his left. White, 79, said his experience at Franklin shaped his path toward McFarland. "She was crying and hugging Danny. Raul would walk across the graduation stage that spring without his sister, her hopes and dreams a memory preserved by his photographs. I have never forgotten what it was like covering 1980s McFarland, from the image of those girls posing in front of the limousine and trying to look happy to the night one year later when Ernesto Bravo saw me photographing his 14-year-old son, Mario, in his casket, the town's sixth cancer victim. A 1997 LA Times article described it as a rickety, worn bicycle, but did not state that it was a girl's bicycle like in the movie. Now. David Diaz says the memory of the accident that took Sylvia and Herlinda more than 28 years ago "feels like it happened last cross-country season. thomas valles. They grew up in broken homes. Definitely. Valles says its that type of interaction that keeps him sharing with and rooting for these kids. It was bittersweet. Nine boys state titles is tied with Jesuit (SJ) for the most boys team titles in state history. The film does an excellent job of capturing the essence of the challenges of the small migrant farming community but not everything on the big screen is quite like it happened in real life. They talk about being inspired to strive for something beyond picking in the fields. Additionally, Coach White would be there for counseling and fulfilling needs beyond what their parents could afford. This is the team featured in the movie McFarland USA, which opens to general release on February 20. She was on the 1985 team and became a cheerleader in 1986, but her teammates wanted her in this photo. Yes. Based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a mainly Latino high . So I'd have two practices." They are portrayed to be 15 and 10, a few years younger than they actually were at the time of the first state title in 1987 (the girls were in college at the time). I want all of my. Sept. 17, 2022 Submitted by the famil of Remedios E. July 14, 2022 Submitted by relatives Mary Ann Ruiz May 10, 2022 OUR CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF NICK RUIZ April 15, 2022 Submitted by the Ahumada Family Eddie Ahumada, Our Hometown Thomas received a degree and served our country before returning to McFarland to raise a family and also help coach the McFarland . "I started hanging around the wrong kids," Valles said. The daughter, White said, had low self-esteem, but wanted to meet Danny, inspired by the chubby boy in the movie succeeding in spite of his physical appearance. He came over, introduced himself, and said, I'm running. In White's time, the town's population has slowly grown from fewer than 4,000 to just over 15,000. Inspired to strive for something beyond picking in the disney movie & quot ; team title at the CIF-State! Many friends and returned to cheer at many cross country Championships in 1987 a team ``... 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