Life at home was rough. Subject from McFarland USA shares life story, Rare endangered animal seen running across Texas road. We had birthday parties with them. -John Harte, Yes, and at times the White family paid for new shoes and clothing for the team out of their own pockets. ", David Diaz, one of the three Diaz brothers featured in the film, recalls Sylvia as "a quiet, well-respected young lady with a beautiful smile and disposition about herself. Its a town that draws in running teams from across the country for motivational talks, and its a town that knows champions can be made there. Sylvia had just made her first communion a week before and that got Herlinda all excited. 104. what does cheryl white want coach white to pick up for julies birthday. Change). Public speaker. Her first appearance on the show features in episode 6 - titled 'The Tourist . (David Diaz and Amador Ayon were both seniors on the 1986 team and didn't get the chance to compete for a state championship. those boys were heroes to many. 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. Its the last six miles that get you., We always think back and wish we could have done this or that, Valles said. At the Kern Invitational on Nov. 1, 1986, five days after the accident that took the lives of Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz, the boys team lines up for the start of their race. a cake. He got into the truck and began to talk with Coach White about his difficulties at home. Later, Javi and Lupe offer to take Julie out for her own "parade", with Thomas accompanying them. "I started hanging around the wrong kids," Valles said. Didn't you get into this fight? (LogOut/ 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. "You try to offer them the same thing we offered our girls," White said. We didnt win overnight. The first 20 miles are easy, Valles said. "He was our second dad. Diaz, now a vice principal at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, says he regrets taking Herlinda's upbeat nature for granted. 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. We still run the same roads, along the same fields, just with different kids. He promised to take him places away from McFarland, California. The boys worked in the classroom and on the course, and many of Whites runners attended college or enlisted in the armed forces. Thomas Valles, a former member of the McFarland, Calif. cross-country team that won a state championship in 1987, . Well, yeah, that happened. From left is Herlinda, Delfina Herrera, Sylvia Diaz and her brother, Raul Diaz. "Sometimes I helped them work in the fields," says the real Coach Jim White, "but more importantly, I had practice at a different time. La historia de Valles apareci en la pelcula de Disney "McFarland USA". She called the cops it wasnt the first time and they took him to jail. Excellent, no trash or language. 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. Also check out the incredibly moving real photos from the beach scene depicted in McFarland USA from the personal album of Silvia Diaz. Despite a strong group returning from the '87 championship team, McFarland only placed fifth in 1988. Dream big-that's the motto of USI's Hispanic Heritage Month keynote speaker Thomas Valles, a member of the state champion McFarland High School cross country team featured in the 2015 Disney film McFarland USA.Through a conversation moderated by Paola Marizan '15, Valles will discuss his historic and inspiring running career, the challenges he faced growing up in a small Latino farming town in . Where he called home depended on where his father could find work in the fields. He later taught woodshop and physical education. Clockwise from top center is Dolores Plata, Herlinda Gonzalez, Gabby Perez, Alicia Herrera, Delfina Herrera and Magda Saragoza. "I grew up in a broken home," Valles said. And, man, I just started crying, started crying tears of joy. They talk about being 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. In White's time, the town's population has slowly grown from fewer than 4,000 to just over 15,000. Truly, something unique happened at Cedarville last week. Asked what part of the story of that 1987 season he wished had been included in the film, White said the impact of his wife Cheryl. They would have graduated together. Julie White has moved to small town McFarland with her family. 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. Sylvia Diaz at work in the agricultural fields of McFarland in 1985. ", White, the former baseball player, was a right-handed pitcher. Plainview Herald. I grew up in a house with domestic violence, and I didnt feel compelled to share, he said. Well acted and tremendously inspirational. One day he got a call from White reminding him why he was in school. "God, she had such a great laugh. That made us work harder. A mass of athletes, competing in the purest level of competition racing. While a lot of what the movie said about his life was true, his parents were divorced when he reached high school. A good student, she dreamed of continuing her education after high school and of visiting Hawaii. Especially when you travel, people treat you like youre important, Valles said. I wish it had told a little more about the truth of Blanco and who he was and why he was there. 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. Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasnt stopped at 52. Twenty-one years later, and he has a different outlook. He later taught woodshop and physical education. She often brought along a music magazine that had all of the current top hits' lyrics inside. SKOTY. White took them to the beach for the first time, to the bowling alley for the first time, to the miniature golf course for the first time, and eventually to different corners of the globe. Thirty-five years ago, the unlikely squad of seven children of Latino fieldworkers, short in stature but strong in character, won the first of McFarland High Schools nine State Championships and 23-straight championship appearances, establishing an untouchable dynasty. The photo was taken with Raul's camera by a teammate. My parents always encouraged us to work hard.. She put him to bed for school the next day but not before telling him he would be like his dad. It was all to beat the guy next to themthe guy who had not had to overcome what they overcame, had not had to work as hard. Let's do it because it's the right thing to do. He encouraged the kids to find their own mentor. White would take his teams to train in Yosemite at elevation. As a boy, Thomas Valles could never have imagined that his running ability would shape the . During cross-country practice on Oct. 27, 1986, Sylvia Diaz, a 16-year-old McFarland High senior, and Herlinda Gonzalez, 14, a sophomore, were struck by a car on Whisler Road in McFarland. 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. 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. But he did say there was a "low-rider" bike with his nickname "Blanco" on it. I didn't want to go home," says Thomas. But it was too late. McFarland had four in (31 points) before Stevenson's No. I wouldn't feel anything. Local photojournalist John Harte, who followed the team at the time, says that he witnessed opposing teams offer genuine handshakes of good luck. We grew up not having a whole lot, every single person on our team. Added Cheryl: "With him being a pitcher, he would have been straight on.". The McFarland, USA true story confirms that at first, the mother of the Diaz brothers -- David, Damacio and Danny -- forbid them from competing. "Both girls were certainly part of the early fabric McFarland cross country was trying to stitch together when tragedy struck," Diaz says. At first, it is just a temporary place to live until she graduates high school . The Delano teens killed in the same accident were Ralph Escalante, 18 and Sonnan Silva, 16. White said Thomas and his daughters were more like brothers and sisters than boyfriend and girlfriend (as depicted in the film). There is much excitement and anticipation in McFarland about the film, which stars Kevin Costner as coach Jim White, and as I mentioned in my previous posts that dealt with the enormous heartache this town endured in the 1980s Show the world what has happened to my son, Prom night, a crash and six teens lost and McFarlands never-ending heartache this close-knit town deserves some good will and national love. He said the high school had 4,000 students and he "felt like a number." -KGET 17, Yes. Cookie Preferences / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Generated by 10.1.2.159 from cache (3498 ttl) in 11 milliseconds. "He had to be wondering, 'Hey, what am I doing up here?' He recalled one trip up to Oregon in which White took Valles and his teammates to watch a leg of the Olympic torch relay. This is part of a series of articles looking back at the 1987 CIF-State Cross Country Championships, the first in California. Occupation Actress Years active 1985-present Spouse(s). Diaz, Damacio Diaz, David Diaz, Diego He won nine state titles and went to the state meet every year but one, he said. Write by: "He just had high expectations of us. It was gold to us, but complete torture for the guys and probably Coach White as well. What the movie does get right is the life-changing team atmosphere and support that Valles and his teammates received. to know what it feels like to be "She wanted to meet Danny Diaz," White said. He was more than a coach. He said he didnt want 2 hire lawyers or have 2 deal with all that. Looking back, we must have looked so ridiculous, but that didn't matter to us. Low near 35F. On Sunday, Valles, a former Salinas resident who now lives in McFarland and coaches girls cross country at McFarland High School, will participate in the 50th annual NYC Marathon. White said the team would run in the heat of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits. 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. visual effects coordinator: Shade VFX She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Little Dog Laughed in 2007. They met at my house for practice. Retired from law enforcement. This mantra propelled the boys of McFarland High School to their the first California State Cross Country Championships in 1987. White, a newcomer to McFarland when he coached the team to the state championship, still lives there. 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). All seven Diaz children went to college and all seven returned to McFarland where they live today. McFarland High School is actually just down the road from the Central Valley Correctional Facility, not across the street. 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Completed. By 1986, Texas-born Coach Jim White, nicknamed Blanco by his Latino team, had built a locally dominant cross country team. 1. 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. johnny sameniego. "I didn't really know what those sports were," Valles said. Like a scene from the movie, he found himself at a bridge on the highway one night when hed had enough. They're not going to let kids run all over them. Oh, how that stung me for a long time. ", "It was a great accomplishment," White said. experience coaching the team. 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. They took him home and knocked on his front door. Additionally, Coach White would be there for counseling and fulfilling needs beyond what their parents could afford. That's OK. We're doing it for our kids, we'll do it for you. Who was Jim White? Sylvia Diaz at work in the agricultural fields of McFarland in 1985. 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. 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 . A female carer working with autistic children who bit off part of a pub landlady's ear during a boozy bar brawl has been jailed for 14 months. Pictured are Norma Torres and Hollie Wykoff, right, after the race. He might never have given the incident another thought if not for Whites actions. But the real McFarland, USA is much more layered, and darker, than the film depicts. In seventh grade, Valles said his PE teacher (White) introduced himself and said he coached cross country and track. 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. They were requested by People Magazine. -KGET 17. I received a nice surprise today when my pal, longtime Bakersfield Californian photographer Felix Adamo, found these photos I shot of the 1987 McFarland boys cross country team. A little more about the truth of Blanco and who he was and why was... Lawyers or have 2 deal with all that vice principal at Kern Valley State Prison in,... Moved to small town McFarland with her family '' bike with his ``... 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