Retired - living in McFarland. The McFarland girls arrived for the CIF Central Section South Area meet on Nov. 13, 1986 in a limousine. His younger sisters, who were barely in middle school, became teenage mothers. This was out of the ordinary.". Feel free to email jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv. Like a scene from the movie, he found himself at a bridge on the highway one night when hed had enough. Girls XC coach at McFarland. GREAT GREAT GREAT MOVIE! No one outworked the boys of McFarland. ", "Some of the boys had never been to the ocean," White said. I'm in sixth grade, and Im running.. We still run the same roads, along the same fields, just with different kids. Diaz, now a vice principal at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, says he regrets taking Herlinda's upbeat nature for granted. This is the team featured in the movie McFarland USA, which opens to general release on February 20. 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. WABC 11/5/2021. Many students were touched. To make up for the time they couldn't work in the fields due to cross country practice, Jim White would sometimes give his time to them by helping them pick in the fields. She has also received three other Tony Award nominations for her performances in Airline Highway in 2013, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus in 2019 and POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive . They attack the group, while they push Julie out of harm's way. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A look at the real McFarland USA kids and coach JimWhite, You can't have my job, but I'll tell you a story, Show the world what has happened to my son. Pictured are Norma Torres and Hollie Wykoff, right, after the race. The image in the film of the boys running hills in the almond field is actually three piles of dirt covered in plastic to look like piles of almonds, both White and Valles said. Thomas Valles was barely a teenager when a coach stepped in and changed his life. In McFarland, cross-country coach, Jim White, changes the course of Thomas' life when he introduces him to running. But enjoy the moment. While the Disney film "McFarland USA" depicts the inspirational story of the team and . Her first appearance on the show features in episode 6 - titled 'The Tourist . It was a bit of a surprise when she exited the . (LogOut/ 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). HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Runner Thomas Valles (5th from left) and his family arrive at the world premiere of 'McFarland, USA' at the El Capitan Theatre on February 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California. As stated above, the real Jim White started teaching in the McFarland School District straight out of college in 1964. Starring Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Hector Duran, Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Coach Jim White Interview & the Diaz Family Looks Back, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. It soon became a dominant program among small schools in Northern California. The houses in which the family stayed belonged to farm owners. He retired in 2003 after 23 years of coaching boys cross country. Raul Diaz is now Father Raul Diaz, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba. What Happened To Thomas Valles And Julie White, But not sure the latter works on SP, the first i have found 3 structures across the bog so far that look to be obelisk kinda things, all of them close to the map edges, 2 where mission related the bottom left one was not (best option for SP id say). Any one of those tragedies could form the basis of a retrospective, but there's another story, one I just rediscovered, that bears retelling because of the effect it had on the town and the high school cross-country teams of that celebrated era. 5, was not in the picture. josecardenas; coachwhite; jimwhite +15 more # 3. yours - thomas valles x . They asked me if I was happy with my place. You have permission to edit this article. under Coach Jim White at McFarland High He stressed the importance of Whites impact. Also, take a closer look at the Diaz family, who had seven children run for McFarland. One day he got a call from White reminding him why he was in school. Top, from left: Johnny Samaniego, Luis Partida, Damacio Diaz and Coach Jim White. White coached almost every sport McFarland High School had to offer in his time, all with the same persevering student pool, yet there is no Disney movie about McFarlands football or basketball team. 2023 2019 ABG-SI LLC. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. He admittedly partied too much during his sophomore year and became ineligible. By
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 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. Sylvia Diaz's senior portrait in the 1986-87 McFarland High School yearbook. This mantra propelled the boys of McFarland High School to their the first California State Cross Country Championships in 1987. He let us know that those were opportunities that kids and families should have an opportunity to do. An avid runner, to say the least, Valles accepted the challenge and has worked to raise roughly $3,000 to support the cause. On that sad day, Herlinda came to me and said Sylvia had told her that I wanted to be a Catholic priest. Everybody has a Mr. White, Valles said. Immediately after the race, Valles said he was taken with a group of top finishers for awards and media but didn't know if the team had actually won. ", Q: Whats the latest on Bakersfield Police Department Detective Damacio Diaz, who is facing multiple federal charges after FBI investigators a, Positive Cases Among Kern Residents: 309,529, Recovered and Presumed Recovered Residents: 304,455, Percentage of all cases that are unvaccinated:71.13, Percentage of all hospitalizations that are unvaccinated:83.13, Source: Kern County Public Health Services Department. Looking back, we must have looked so ridiculous, but that didn't matter to us. I guarantee I wouldn't have missed. If one or two of those boys couldn't make practice at four o'clock 'cause they're just gettin' in from work, then I might practice at 6 or 7 o'clock with those boys. Definitely. Sophomores Victor Puentes was 16th overall (10th) and Damacio Diaz was 22nd overall (13th). 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." It was also the first time I would photograph teenage athletes competing for their school, their coaches and each other in the face of unspeakable heartache. Quote Tweet. The six-part series . Thomas Valles. Stationed at Soledad and living in Salinas, he applied to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitationto fulfill his dream in law enforcement. "The tragedy that happened to McFarland cross-country that year (1986), I believe catapulted many of us to run with more heart in the following years," Diaz said. -23ABC News. I love it so muchthese are people we need the HARD WORKING MEXICANS in this country! At first, it is just a temporary place to live until she graduates high school . I told them I was but our goal is to win as a team.". If he wasnt at school, Valles was expected to be at home or in the fields helping his dad. Runner Thomas Valles and his family arrive at the world premiere of 'McFarland, USA' at the El Capitan Theatre on February 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California. They're my brothers.. Dolores Plata Rodriguez says the bus trips were the most fun of her cross-country experience. The town is now over 15,000 strong, well over the 4000 people there in 1987. We still run the same roads, along the same fields, just with different kids. Today, Valles coaches girls cross country coach at McFarland and travels around to speak and share his story. His first teaching position in the district was instructing fifth grade science, which he did for nine years. Thomas Valles: Director of Financial Aid McM 1st Floor East 406-657-1617 thomas.valles@msubillings.edu . When I say Mr. White became my father figure and Mrs. White became my mother figure. 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. Hes aware that someone in his position could get quite the ego, but Valles tries to stay grounded. We were recruited young. He said he told his mother that he wanted to go somewhere small, somewhere where he could have an impact. In fact, when the studio gave Valles and his teammates a special sneak preview of the film, he left the theater unimpressed. -John Harte, Yes, and at times the White family paid for new shoes and clothing for the team out of their own pockets. Playing Grace's best friend in Grace Under Fire, White had a falling out which resulted in her giving her notice to the show. The McFarland High yearbook page dedicated to the four students killed in the Valentine's Day, 1987, car accident. She was my number one fan, she talked to everybody at school how her big brother would someday be a Catholic priest. White, 79, said his experience at Franklin shaped his path toward McFarland. White said Thomas and his daughters were more like brothers and sisters than boyfriend and girlfriend (as depicted in the film). He was no fan of homework and was diagnosed with dyslexia creating some additional learning challenges at school but he was motivated to run and to travel. Seneca School, Sure, Ill help as best I can. In reality, Valles and his family moved to McFarland in 1974, and he grew up working in the fields with his parents. Thomas gives her a bracelet that his grandmother made. The film also shows a chubby runner named Danny Diaz rallying late to secure the team title. Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) is the new The movie makes Valles out to be a moody, bad boy with a checkered family background. We became a real family, and we're still family.. 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. I wept and wept, and did not go inside. He says that The McFarland girls cross-country team ran in the California Interscholastic Federation South Area meet at Hart Park on Nov. 13, 1986, two and a half weeks after the accident that claimed teammates Sylvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez. Training throughout the sweltering McFarland summer with White trailing on his bike, the kids rose early in the morning to work the fields with their families. A young girl approached Thomas Valles, McFarlands No. Thomas Valles was one of the runners who competed and won the cross country CIF State Championship in 1987. A live-action Disney movie starring Kevin Costner, this 2015 film set in the late 1980s opens on the downward spiraling career of high school football coach Jim White (Costner). Thomas Valles prays before the start of the Kern Invitational on November 1, 1986, five days after two teammates from the girls team were killed during a practice session. But the depiction of him in the film prompted him to make a t-shirt showing him as he actually was: "This is the real Danny Diaz.". Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Did they run over piles of almonds to simulate hills? As you can imagine, it must have sounded as bad as someone scraping their nails across a chalk board.". "Sylvia and I were seniors because my parents placed us in the same grade when we were in fourth grade because they wanted me to walk with her to school. Inspired by the irony of his last name, "Blanco" was one of the nicknames that the kids and their families gave Jim White. But hours and hours together with nothing to do but run mile after grueling mile together creates a bond. We sang those songs at the top of our lungs. 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. -KGET 17, Yes. White said the team would run in the heat of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits. He occasionally hit more than just the wall. We won.' This photo ran in The Californian the next day. They took him home and knocked on his front door. Pow. Johnny is an educator and is still coaching. ", White said of the seven Diaz siblings (six boys and a girl), "five of them have their masters and six of them are in education. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. The principal shook his head. We'd love to share your memories of that meet and that experience. He also attended CSU Bakersfield and was the first person in his familyto get higher than a sixth-grade education. Valles explained that White had observed him going for a six-mile jog-walk record "trying to be the top guy. WASHINGTON Democrats in Congress are turning up the heat on Justice Clarence Thomas, with some calling for him to step back from cases involving . It was bittersweet. Growing up, we had to work to keep a roof over our heads, Valles said. La historia de Valles apareci en la pelcula de Disney "McFarland USA". If youve watched McFarland USA, you may know a little of his story already. Thomas Valles was barely a teenager when a coach stepped in and changed his life. Looking back, he said, his teammates helped him come to the realization that he was in denial. Also check out the incredibly moving real photos from the beach scene depicted in McFarland USA from the personal album of Silvia Diaz. This included members of the Bakersfield High Drillers. In this photo likely shot by a teammate with Raul Diaz's camera, the McFarland boys and girls cross-country teams pose on the beach at Cayucos after coach Jim White made an impromptu stop following the Santa Maria Invitational in 1985. Raul went on to become a priest and is pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba. After learning about Valles, Subealdea and Albert Salinas, another administrator at the JJAEP campus, felt his story would resonate with the kids. At 31 years old, Valles said he was fulfilling his dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Did that happen? -LA Times, No. "(That) fixed it where I could never see my parents on Thanksgiving," White said. Flora is Sylvia's younger sister. Wykoff was one of the runners who witnessed the accident. There was alcohol or drug abuse in their homes. In this photo by Raul Diaz, Sylvia Diaz (3) and teammate Magda Saragoza run in a race in 1985. In 1964, after graduating from Pepperdine, White was hired to teach middle school science in McFarland. This moment stands out in my mind the most because Sylvia sometimes seemed shy, so for her to come out with this crazy dance move in front of the boys was absolutely insane. 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Retired as a correctional officer. "Some had never had a sit-down dinner with forks.". Google 'McFarland USA fact vs. fiction' and you get quite a few options that separate the true story of the upstart cross country program at the rural Central California high school and Hollywood's spin on it in the 2015 film starring Kevin Costner as coach Jim White. "That's their livelihood. PE teacher at McFarland MS. McFarland HS varsity girls basketball coach. Its also a testament to parents, dont lower the bar for your kids, always aim higb. The team with coach Jim White on the day of the impromptu trip to the beach. Well acted and tremendously inspirational. Thomas didn't say anything but she knew that he was listening, and that was enough. Update, February 18, 2015: I have located my original images from the 1986 Kern County Invitational, the first race the McFarland girls and boys ran following the tragic . Jim White coaching photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport. ", "Thomas he made a big impact on our life," White said. Primary filming took place in McFarland, California in 2013. By Carlo Vellandi Nov 22, 2022. While Hollywood fictionalized the story, Blanco developed a real dynasty in high school cross country.. The town had two places to go to jail and nine places to go to eat, Sports Illustrateds Gary Smith wrote in the story that inspired the movie. Included in the segment, titled In seventh grade, Valles said his PE teacher (White) introduced himself and said he coached cross country and track. A particularly poignant photograph shows Sylvia and Raul, Delfina Herrera and Herlinda holding up her index finger, showing off the "MHS #1" she has just scrawled in the sand at Cayucos. His performance at the 1987 state meet did help McFarland lock up the title. to know what it feels like to be Now. That was the true beginning of the program's championship run to eight more titles. Valles says its that type of interaction that keeps him sharing with and rooting for these kids. The real Coach Jim White took both the boys and girls cross country teams to the California central coast beach at Cayucos during the 1985 season (not the 1987 season). "He's the one who . From left: Victor Puentes, Johnny Samaniego, Damacio Diaz, Thomas Valles and David Diaz. It's all Hollywood. Retired from law enforcement. The film McFarland USA(2015) is based on a true story of a Teacher/Coach, Jim White (Kevin Costner) and a high school cross country team from a poor farm town in Central California. He promised to take him places away from McFarland, California. who is the anchor of the cross country team. It features a bridge with silhouettes of runners, and a water tower with a running mural. Back then, McFarland was largely white demographically. I grew up with domestic violence and that's what I knew. Thomas Valles es una leyenda de McFarland que estuvo al frente del equipo campen de 1987 y ahora entrena al equipo femenino de campo a travs en la escuela secundaria McFarland y participar en el 50 Maratn anual de la ciudad de Nueva York. Central Valley. Clockwise from top center is Dolores Plata, Herlinda Gonzalez, Gabby Perez, Alicia Herrera, Delfina Herrera and Magda Saragoza. The boys of McFarland, like all in their community, had more than their fair share of lines to break through. A former . Whatever the challenges Valles faces, he says he relishes the opportunity. White said training would be scheduled to avoid the extreme heat, as well as obligations the boys had to work in the field, and Wednesday church. But then it was nervous time. David Diaz remains actively involved in the program, Valles said.). He came over, introduced himself, and said, I'm running. 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Gabby Perez, Alicia Herrera, Delfina Herrera and Magda Saragoza run in the of... Coaching photo by raul Diaz, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba anchor of film! If he wasnt at school, became teenage mothers left the theater unimpressed live until she graduates High school country... Children run for McFarland of our lungs and families should have an impact @ msubillings.edu during his sophomore and.