Retired as a correctional officer. Did that happen? 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. . Yes. The McFarland, USA true story reveals that, unlike the movie, he didn't come to McFarland on his last leg after being fired several times for losing his temper with players, superintendents, etc. 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. David Diaz is behind Victor wearing a white t-shirt and McFarland hat. It was simply overwhelming for me.". Their legs were shot by Friday, the day before State.". Middle row, from left: David diaz, Thomas Valles, Amador Ayon and Christian Rodriguez. White. 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 . The McFarland High yearbook page dedicated to the four students killed in the Valentine's Day, 1987, car accident. Quote Tweet. experience coaching the team. . So, White relocates his family to a new town taking on a lowly post teaching science and P.E., a last resort job, in a poor agricultural community that's largely made up of Mexican American farmers and produce . 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. They worked hard. visual effects coordinator: Shade VFX Its a subject he was shy to address when he rather reluctantly got into the speaker circuit in 2017. Bold, original and fun, her collection of silk scarves & specialty socks are collectable and timeless. Julie White poses during the arrivals for the opening night performance of "Red" at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Ryan Miller . Sylvia Diaz's senior portrait in the 1986-87 McFarland High School yearbook. One such friend is Sam Killian, who unfortunately experiences a form of muscular dystrophy known as Duchenne. I loved my sister very much. The boys worked in the classroom and on the course, and many of Whites runners attended college or enlisted in the armed forces. 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. to know what it feels like to be Although, not everyone had a good race that day at Woodward Park, McFarland scored 99 points to win by 45 points over runner-up Robert Louis Stevenson and 54 over third-place Yreka. Danny Diaz was not overweight, but he was the seventh runner on the team. It wasnt easy and he shared a slip-up. Sylvia Diaz at work in the agricultural fields of McFarland in 1985. Valles grew up in a migrant family. Yes. It was a great honor to win that first one.". The memorial pages in the 1986-87 McFarland High yearbook for Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz. "He's the one who . She called the cops it wasnt the first time and they took him to jail. They talk about being inspired to strive for something beyond picking in the fields. None of us could carry a tune even if our lives depended on it. This was the best of the best. Well, yeah, that happened. Thomas Valles, a former member of the McFarland, Calif. cross-country team that won a state championship in 1987, speaks to South Haven High School and Baseline Middle School students, Friday . And, man, I just started crying, started crying tears of joy. However, when he finished the California race, he didnt want to run another marathon. All three girls graduated with degrees in education from Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas; Tami in 1985, Julie in 1988, and Jami in 1991. Yes, the McFarland High boys did win a team title at the first CIF-State Cross . Director Niki Caro chose to omit Luis Partida, who in the movie is replaced with David Diaz. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Little Dog Laughed in 2007. Write by: As a boy, Thomas Valles could never have imagined that his running ability would shape the . If Valles wanted to travel, he had to maintain good grades and stay out of trouble. Jim White attended Franklin High in Stockton and Magic Valley Christian community college in Idaho before completing his education at Pepperdine. Where he called home depended on where his father could find work in the fields. They took him home and knocked on his front door. Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it. "I didn't really know what those sports were," Valles said. ', "After awhile, I realized there is some hints of my true story.". Many of the citizens of McFarland were extras in the movie. Its not part of the movie, but the team was, obviously, grieving and impacted deeply. He recently retired as a California State Correctional officer supervising adult males. She was a smart young lady and she tutored me in math because I could not pass math. "The best part wasn't winning a state championship or winning medals," Valles said, "it's what we did afterward, our education, our careers, my family. Finally a great movie, no mayhem, no killing, no swearing, no hanging boobs..this puts some of the other lollywood trash where it belongs In the trash.. Great movie, I cried, wonderful acting and the best inspiration for our young generations!!! 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. A mass of athletes, competing in the purest level of competition racing. SAC where it dominated. the coach of the cross country team who won 9 state titles in 14 years. The 1986-87 McFarland High yearbook contains a heartbreaking number of "in memorial" pages, way too many for a tiny country school. Coach White would tell me to imagine a line when there's that point of too much pain, and then I would try to run through and pass that line, Valles said. Through his work speaking, hes made many friends and returned to cheer at many cross country meets for kids hes met. -LA Times. "I can't say I was going to jump, but I was thinking about my life and why some people would jump. Despite a strong group returning from the '87 championship team, McFarland only placed fifth in 1988. And both CBN and Fox News announced that the "Asbury Revival" had spread to other schools, including Cedarville University. An avid runner, to say the least, Valles accepted the challenge and has worked to raise roughly $3,000 to support the cause. March 29, 2022, 12:48 PM PDT. By the time he hit junior high, he was one of the fastest runners among his peers and White took notice. 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. White House Farm has been criticised by Essex police for the way in which Taff is portrayed. Julie White. "She was nerdy, funny and wanting to please. It was indeed the first time that many of the kids ever saw the ocean. 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. Brief Version. . Valles' story was featured in the Disney movie "McFarland USA.". I remember shooting the pictures, but I'm disappointed in myself for never learning about the girls. Jose Cardenas, McFarland's expected No. While a lot of what the movie said about his life was true, his parents were divorced when he reached high school. And so I would imagine that line all over again.. "When the movie came out, I was kind of in denial. 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. She often brought along a music magazine that had all of the current top hits' lyrics inside. 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 His team's won nine CIF-State cross country titles, five in a row between 1992-96 and three in a row between 1999-01. They would have graduated together. 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. Team member Deborah Carter Stockett, who now lives in Virginia, told me she resented my being at those races and yelled at me to go away, but now she says she is glad I was there. Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. Plainview teen preparing to take Houston Rodeo entertainment stage with Castillo game-winner sends Floydada to regional semi-finals, Sam Elliott award winner for male actor in "1883", High winds, lots of dirt cause havoc across Plainview, Texas bluebonnet season is almost here. He stressed the importance of Whites impact. "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. This race occurred two and one-half weeks after two teammates on the girls team, Silvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez, were struck by a car and killed while practicing. They said we won! I guarantee I wouldn't have missed. On Tuesday, Valles shared a more in-depth version with students at the JJAEP with the hope of inspiring them. A solemnity and eerie quiet hung over Hart Park for the Kern Invitational the afternoon of Nov. 1, 1986, just five days after the accident. They were requested by People Magazine. "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. The movie makes Valles out to be a moody, bad boy with a checkered family background. That day at Woodward Park, McFarland's top four were dominant. PE teacher at McFarland MS. McFarland HS varsity girls basketball coach. The movie downplayed the circumstances in which Valles grew up. Both girls witnessed the practice accident that took the lives of Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz two and one-half weeks earlier. When Valles entered third grade in 1979, his dad bought a home in McFarland. Photo courtesy of Flora Diaz and Raul Diaz. Valles retired two years ago from the California Department of Corrections. I told them I was but our goal is to win as a team.". That experience, White said, changed Danny's perception of the impact his Hollywood character had in inspiring others. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 'tain mais faites-le taire, cuy-l, avec sa tte de vieux nourrisson moche, j'ai pas un sou et je ne rve que de la #REVOLUTION ! Desperate for work, he moves his wife (Maria Bello) and daughters (Morgan Saylor . These photos, by the way, are from the California Southern Area meet held at Hart Park in Bakersfield, probably November 1987, and if I remember correctly, it is the meet before the California Interscholastic Federation section championship and the California state championship, which the team went on to win, and is a focus of the film. You guys actually-" Stacy covered her friend's mouth with one hand, and used the other to hold up a finger to her own lips. Did he ride a pink girls 'Barbie' bike, or was it only Costner? "Sylvia was so sweet, kind, and naturally stunning," says her friend and 1985 teammate Dolores Plata Rodriguez, now an assistant principal at Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano. Heck, we girls could have beat them up," she says, delivering a good-natured salvo to her former teammates. I broke my moms heart at 13, he told the kids. He never saw the money he made as it went to support his family. He said the high school had 4,000 students and he "felt like a number." Valles went on to earn a criminal justice degree. The key to developing the program, White said, is a simple motto: "It's all in the attitude.". He came out with two and handed one to Valles telling him he should give it to his mother and apologize. Coach White is a graduate of Pepperdine University, . 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Samaniego was 17th, Puentes 26th, Cardenas 37th, Damacio Diaz 43rd and Danny Diaz was 85th. And that pain would come back. Juanita Diaz. Growing up, we had to work to keep a roof over our heads, Valles said. What you need to know. "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.". Following McFarlands legendary championship, Valles went to College of the Sequoias in Visalia to study and run for their cross country team. Now, nearly 30 years later, Norma Lopez Takahashi gives a little taste of what they were like: "The movie made the boys look so tough. We still run the same roads, along the same fields, just with different kids. Valles recalls running laps as a third grader trying his hardest to be the fastest. My wife reminds me who I am when I get home.. It was tough growing up in McFarland.". A young girl approached Thomas Valles, McFarland's No. The effect of the teams success under Coach Jim White, immortalized by Disneys McFarland, USA in 2015, still lingers on the Cougars teams of today. Danny's brother. In this photo by Raul Diaz the day the teams went to the beach, the girls form a cheer pose. 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. Thomas Valles, one of the real-life runners featured in the Disney film 'McFarland, USA,' is taking part in his first New York City Marathon. They're men of color. He got drunk one day with some senior teammates after practice. 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). -Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. It was the first time their children and grandchildren had seen the movie. Truly, something unique happened at Cedarville last week. "I was standing there. Sylvia Diaz is in the middle. 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." I didn't want to go home," says Thomas. Life went on.. Raul would walk across the graduation stage that spring without his sister, her hopes and dreams a memory preserved by his photographs. . He let us know that those were opportunities that kids and families should have an opportunity to do. We won.' Completed. 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. I think the school shouldve paid because it was during school practice. The three Diaz brothers featured in the new Disney movie, David, Damacio and Danny, all speak highly of both of their parents. The girls were clutching long-stemmed roses. White said there are hills around orange groves about six miles outside of town where the team goes for true hill training. "I can't speak for everybody, I can speak for myself," Valles said. 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. Additionally, Coach White would be there for counseling and fulfilling needs beyond what their parents could afford. As stated above, the real Jim White started teaching in the McFarland School District straight out of college in 1964. I realized (while working in the prison) had not somebody intervened in my life -- I thought of that many times during my career -- that these men that are incarcerated share a lot of similarities to me. They're not going to let kids run all over them. Top, in tree: Luis Partida and Victor Puentes. Sophomore Johnny Samaniego was 12th overall (sixth in scoring). At first, it is just a temporary place to live until she graduates high school . Back then, McFarland was largely white demographically. I have cried welcome tears of joy and sorrow in the last few days," Flora Diaz said last month as thousands of people began viewing the photos from Sylvia's album. Fun was all that was on our minds. what score does the mcfarland cross country team get at the palo alto invitational. Read about and view photos of McFarland USAs forgotten inspiration, team members Sylvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez, who died in a practice accident in 1986. Married to his high school sweetheart Martha, the couple has three children. | In McFarland, cross-country coach, Jim White, changes the course of Thomas' life when he introduces him to running. 12, The real Jim White and wife Cheryl White actually have three daughters, Tami, Julie and Jami. Well acted and tremendously inspirational. Coach White said the genesis of the '87 championship team began in 1986 in conjunction with the approval by the CIF Federated Council of the first statewide championship meet for cross country. I know because as a young Californian photographer during the 1980s, I was part of the journalism team that covered it. There were times while doing that job that he said he thought about what might have been had it not been for Jim White and cross country. Coach Jim White challenged him and his peers to run. Cookie Preferences / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Generated by 10.1.2.159 from cache (3498 ttl) in 11 milliseconds. ", 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. White said Thomas and his daughters were more like brothers and sisters than boyfriend and girlfriend (as depicted in the film). Here was the star runner, just a kid, bringing his hands to his face in prayer and keeping them there for what seemed an eternity before the start of his race. 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. I know bcuz Mr. Gonzalez had come 2 my office 2 bring in his work insurance, which his insurance didnt pay much. 5. Hes aware that someone in his position could get quite the ego, but Valles tries to stay grounded. I love it so muchthese are people we need the HARD WORKING MEXICANS in this country! This photo . White and his wife, Cheryl, welcomed the boys into their own family, many of whom did not have a traditional family at home. The film shows White taking the team to fields for simulated hill training on mounds of raw almonds. McFarland High School is actually just down the road from the Central Valley Correctional Facility, not across the street. David Diaz remains actively involved in the program, Valles said.). If he wasnt at school, Valles was expected to be at home or in the fields helping his dad. "You couldn't tell if she was ever having a bad day, because she was always so uplifting and a pleasure to be around. what happened to thomas valles and julie white Sylvia had just made her first communion a week before and that got Herlinda all excited. Julie K. White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. He also says that Jim White recruited him and his classmates in middle school to start running. He said your story back then is mine now, Valles recalled. "We did have hills," White said. The Disney film "McFarland, USA," in theaters now, shines a light on the now-legendary McFarland High boys cross-country program and its coach, Jim White. The photographs were taken primarily by her brother, Raul Diaz, on his 35-millimeter camera and shared by her younger sister, Flora Diaz. Jim White (Costner) finds his days as a football coach numbered when an incident with a player leads to his dismissal. This photo ran in The Californian the next day. interview. It's all Hollywood. "He didn't know but I took it as if he had said no," Valles said. Disney took a few creative liberties with creating the feature film, Valles said. Thomas is portrayed as the troubled teen in the movie and also the number one runner. So I'd have two practices." An avid runner, to say the least, Valles accepted . 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. Perhaps one of the most endearing parts of Valles is his humility. "You saw the hills at the end of the movie.". 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. -KGET 17. The first time Valles got real with an audience, a kid approached him afterward. Jim's lack of experience in coaching cross-country isn't some throwaway plot point meant to give the character one more . His family was dysfunctional. In fact, when the studio gave Valles and his teammates a special sneak preview of the film, he left the theater unimpressed. . The whole team. At 31 years old, Valles said he was fulfilling his dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. So I would go numb. What you don't see in the film is sixth runner Luis Partida, who was replaced on the team in McFarland USA by David Diaz, who had actually graduated in 1986. In this photo shot by Raul Diaz on Oct. 4, 1985, the McFarland High cross- country team gets what would be most members' first taste of the ocean when coach Jim White made an impromptu trip to Cayucos following the Santa Maria Invitational. Was enlisted in the armed services. From left is Herlinda, Delfina Herrera, Sylvia Diaz and her brother, Raul Diaz. He showed Valles how . PE teacher in McFarland, an economically "That's their livelihood. Flora is Sylvia's younger sister. Valles said he asked the McFarland principal if the team had won. Some, like David Diaz, became teachers themselves. Feet thudding on the pavement, and shoes shuffling through the dirt in rhythm. Valles told the kids he and his siblings would get to bed early on the nights his dad went out for drinks. His performance at the 1987 state meet did help McFarland lock up the title. I grew up with domestic violence and that's what I knew. In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers. 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). Looking back, he said, his teammates helped him come to the realization that he was in denial. picking in the fields. Valles held him to that promise. Little did I know that was our goodbye. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Yet 35 years later, coach White and all seven boys from the 1987 team are back making a difference in the city they love: McFarland, USA. Along the same roads, along the same fields, just with kids... Top four were dominant it 's all in the movie is replaced with David Diaz is behind Victor wearing White. State Correctional officer supervising adult males ) is an American Actress communion a week and. Many of the Sequoias in Visalia to study and run for their cross country team who won State. To keep a roof over our heads, Valles said. ) old, Valles.... 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