Valles grew up in a migrant family. Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasnt stopped at 52. Valles, a senior, placed seventh overall and second among scorers. Many students were touched. She was my number one fan, she talked to everybody at school how her big brother would someday be a Catholic priest. 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. 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. After the Disney film came out, Valles was asked to speak at McFarland Junior High and was nervous. 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. -KGET 17. Thomas received a degree and served our country before returning to McFarland to raise a family and also help coach the McFarland . 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 . Coach Jim White challenged him and his peers to run. danny diaz. Growing up, we had to work to keep a roof over our heads, Valles said. His older brothers started getting mixed in the wrong crowds and experimenting with drugs. Dozens of Coach Jim White's runners ended up going to college or into the armed forces. Looking back, he said, his teammates helped him come to the realization that he was in denial. experience coaching the team. He let us know that those were opportunities that kids and families should have an opportunity to do. It wasnt easy and he shared a slip-up. He said he told his mother that he wanted to go somewhere small, somewhere where he could have an impact. They're men of color. "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. Raul Diaz is now Father Raul Diaz, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba. However, I believe the Diaz family did go 2 court & the school paid them an undisclosed amount. At the Kern Invitational on Nov. 1, 1986, five days after the accident that took the lives of Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz, Thomas Valles prays before the start of the boys race. And so I would imagine that line all over again.. 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." They said we won! She often brought along a music magazine that had all of the current top hits' lyrics inside. A cleat, a shoe 2. Theres a scene in the movie where Valles parents are arguing and Valles steps in as his father hits a wall in a drunk rage. He later joined the U.S. Coast Guard. By Ellysa Harris. They grew up in broken homes. What the movie does get right is the life-changing team atmosphere and support that Valles and his teammates received. Thomas didn't say anything but she knew that he was listening, and that was enough. Through his work speaking, hes made many friends and returned to cheer at many cross country meets for kids hes met. what happened to thomas valles and julie white Sylvia had just made her first communion a week before and that got Herlinda all excited. While the idea for the motion picture was conceived in the 1990s, it was not made until Disney bought rights to the story and actor Kevin Costner, who played Mr . 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. "I grew up in a broken home," Valles said. Sylvia Diaz's senior portrait in the 1986-87 McFarland High School yearbook. I wept and wept, and did not go inside. 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. Nine boys state titles is tied with Jesuit (SJ) for the most boys team titles in state history. Truly, something unique happened at Cedarville last week. 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. DMCA NoticesNewspaper web site content management software and services. At the Kern Invitational on Nov. 1, 1986, five days after the accident that took the lives of Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz, Thomas Valles prays before the start of the boys race. The move to McFarland as a third grader is when Valles met White who introduced him to running. At first, it is just a temporary place to live until she graduates high school . E-7Sergeant First Class - United States Army. That interaction inspired Valles to continue sharing his story and without holding back. The disciplinarian was out of the house, Valles said. Samaniego was 17th, Puentes 26th, Cardenas 37th, Damacio Diaz 43rd and Danny Diaz was 85th. Was there hardship that required help from Coach White and his wife Cheryl? Education, law enforcement, business owners. Low near 35F. 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. My most memorable moments with her were the bus rides to away races. PE teacher in McFarland, an economically Their mom and dad worked hard and pushed the boys even harder to succeed and do well. He showed Valles how running could set him free. "She wanted to meet Danny Diaz," White said. Bottom, from left: Thomas Valles, Danny Diaz, Victor Puentes, Jose Cardenas. "He didn't know but I took it as if he had said no," Valles said. 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. 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). But enjoy the moment. So I would go numb. White would take his teams to train in Yosemite at elevation. Retired from law enforcement. Today, Valles coaches girls cross country coach at McFarland and travels around to speak and share his story. -23ABC News. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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. 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. Clockwise from top center is Dolores Plata, Herlinda Gonzalez, Gabby Perez, Alicia Herrera, Delfina Herrera and Magda Saragoza. But it was too late. 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. Thomas Valles is a McFarland legend who was at the forefront of the 1987 championship team and now coaches the girls cross country team at McFarland high school and will be participating in the 50th annual New York City Marathon. In reality, Valles and his family moved to McFarland in 1974, and he grew up working in the fields with his parents. Valles said he asked the McFarland principal if the team had won. His family was dysfunctional. "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. "Things that Mrs. Diaz did (in the film), that's what Cheryl was doing. It's all Hollywood. Plainview Herald. "I was getting interviewed by the Bakersfield Californian (newspaper). interview. "We couldn't go out there and run those things," White said. Julie White Born Julie K. White June 4, 1961 San Diego, California, U.S. 'Everybody in the world is going to think I'm fat and I wasn't fat.' By the time he hit junior high, he was one of the fastest runners among his peers and White took notice. I didn't do that until I met the Whites. We became a real family, and we're still family.. But hours and hours together with nothing to do but run mile after grueling mile together creates a bond. Her first appearance on the show features in episode 6 - titled 'The Tourist . White retired in 2002 but returned to coach the 2003 team. Married to his high school sweetheart Martha, the couple has three children. Dolores Plata is sitting on the grass. "I was standing there. Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasn't stopped at 52. Juanita Diaz. Everybody has a Jim White in their lives, Valles said, referencing his famous high school coach. a cake. At 31 years old, Valles said he was fulfilling his dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. who does coach white see sitting on the edge of the bridge. When Valles entered third grade in 1979, his dad bought a home in McFarland. If he wasnt at school, Valles was expected to be at home or in the fields helping his dad. Retired as a correctional officer. 2023 2019 ABG-SI LLC. The photos I made of the teams in the aftermath of the accident were the first I would shoot of McFarland's string of tragedies in the 1980s. The McFarland, USA true story supports that McFarland High School won nine CIF California State Championships in cross country (including five in a row) and held a streak of attending the state championship meet 24 years in a row. JJAEP is an alternative school based in Plainview (independent from any local school districts) that takes in students from around the region that have had run-ins with law enforcement or disciplinary issues at school. "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. Director Niki Caro chose to omit Luis Partida, who in the movie is replaced with David Diaz. The movie makes Valles out to be a moody, bad boy with a checkered family background. But his dream would be realized. Grandchildren to see this wonderful film. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. -Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. Both Valles and White said the movie producers preferred the idea of three Diaz brothers on the team rather than just two. 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. 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. She never held back when it came to laughing, making people laugh, and just being downright silly. "All my teammates are still here. Stationed at Soledad and living in Salinas, he applied to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitationto fulfill his dream in law enforcement. White said the team would run in the heat of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits. He said he didnt want 2 hire lawyers or have 2 deal with all that. Coach White took the orders and delivered them. Although the State Meet has always been held at Woodward Park in Fresno, the film includes the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles in the background of what was portrayed as the State Meet course. White's daughter." Thomas laughed, a strange bitter sound. Valles retired two years ago from the California Department of Corrections. Teammate updates and McFarland photos courtesy of Thomas Valles. "We did that year after year to build bonds and to trust one another," he said. What about this one? "Uh-" Julie scoffed, "It's totally a huge deal. The photo was taken with Raul's camera by a teammate. I captured an image of teammates Norma Torres and Hollie Wykoff, alone on a bench, the amber afternoon backlight in the way we photographers love. 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. Taff Jones initially suspected that Sheila Caffell had killed her family before taking her own life (Photo: ITV) 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. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Little Dog Laughed in 2007. He got drunk one day with some senior teammates after practice. 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. He has been fired from several jobs, and eventually ends up in the titular town (the only place that would hire him). No. "I was blessed that I got the opportunity to be apart of something that kept me off the streets of McFarland. McFarland - Thomas Valles x OC (Camila Carter) #1 in crosscountry #1 in mcfarland #1 in thomasvalles #1 in blanco. PrepCalTrack.com conducted this Jim White Yes, the McFarland High boys did win a team title at the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships held in 1987. It was indeed the first time that many of the kids ever saw the ocean. He never saw the money he made as it went to support his family. Disney took a few creative liberties with creating the feature film, Valles said. His performance at the 1987 state meet did help McFarland lock up the title. country team. ", "That bothered him for awhile," White said. " 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. it's not all true but he's okay with that. Diaz, and father and mother Paul and 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. Sylvia Diaz at work in the agricultural fields of McFarland in 1985. Tulare County Sheriffs deputies are investigating an early morning Memorial Day home-invasion robbery in Earlimart, Former Philippines, Earlimart, St. Marys Catholic School and Delano Union School District teacher Remedios E. Ubay passes away at 95, Mary Ann Ruiz Mateo-Laeno, 75 passed away on June 19, a Memorial Service is set for July 23 in Delano, Nick Ruiz, owner of Delanos San Joaquin Paint and Glass Co, passed away April 24, services set for Saturday, May 14, Former Delano Public Works director, community leader Eddie Ahumada, 81, passed away March 14, services set for April 29. November 06, 2021. 1. 12, Not exactly. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Feel free to email jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv. In actuality, Thomas was the number one runner for the 1987 State Championship Cross Country team for McFarland. For 15 years, actress Pauley Perrette delighted fans as the surprisingly bubbly goth forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on the CBS crime procedural NCIS. Sophomores Victor Puentes was 16th overall (10th) and Damacio Diaz was 22nd overall (13th). . By every account from their friends, relatives and teammates, these were two special and deeply-loved girls. He came over, introduced himself, and said, I'm running. He won nine state titles and went to the state meet every year but one, he said. Did that happen? However, he had been a teacher in the McFarland School District since 1964, following his graduation from Pepperdine University. visual effects coordinator: Shade VFX Terms in this set (31) Who was Danny Diaz? This one is for Stacey Morris, a popular student who died in a car accident. That was my running family, my brothers, my teammates, Mr. "We did what we could to help him. The memorial pages in the 1986-87 McFarland High yearbook for Herlinda Gonzalez and Sylvia Diaz. They came back. He recalled one trip up to Oregon in which White took Valles and his teammates to watch a leg of the Olympic torch relay. . Photo credit: ITV. Flora is Sylvia's younger sister. Her hand drawn prints are instantly recognisable. 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. Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. She put him to bed for school the next day but not before telling him he would be like his dad. Now. Durning the season, the boys are not supposed to play basketball. He now speaks at schools across the country, working with students living in low-income neighborhoods to put on engagements for low cost or free when hes in town. ", "That was Hollywood," Valles said. Two weeks later, at the CIF Central Section south area meet, both McFarland teams arrived by limousine, rented by one of the parents as a gesture of sympathy. In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers. Jim White coaching photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport. He said your story back then is mine now, Valles recalled. Back then, McFarland was largely white demographically. SAC where it dominated. Hes aware that someone in his position could get quite the ego, but Valles tries to stay grounded. . Also, take a closer look at the Diaz family, who had seven children run for McFarland. Middle row, from left: David diaz, Thomas Valles, Amador Ayon and Christian Rodriguez. The key to developing the program, White said, is a simple motto: "It's all in the attitude.". : 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. Oh, how that stung me for a long time. November 15, 2021 / Vanessa Villalvazo. Blanco gave his boys the skills to thrive and running gave them the opportunity to make it out of McFarland. went on to college. 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. To see additional photos of the McFarland boys and girls teams competing in the 1986 Kern Invitational five days after the tragic accident that took the lives of their teammates, please visit the post McFarlands never-ending heartache.. We treated them just like our kids. " This mantra propelled the boys of McFarland High School to their the first California State Cross Country Championships in 1987. I wouldn't feel anything. He showed Valles how . That was pretty amazing. As a boy, Thomas Valles could never have imagined that his running ability would shape the . 'Danny made a big difference in my life.' The McFarland girls arrived for the CIF Central Section South Area meet on Nov. 13, 1986 in a limousine. Julie and Jami are depicted in the McFarland, USA movie. Its also a testament to parents, dont lower the bar for your kids, always aim higb. White, a newcomer to McFarland when he coached the team to the state championship, still lives there. It was rare to stay in one place longer than a year. Thomas Valles, a former member of the McFarland, Calif. cross-country team that won a state championship in 1987, . I want to tell the story of Sylvia and Herlinda because, based on what I witnessed in 1986, a complete story of McFarland High's inspiring cross-country legacy cannot be told without including Sylvia, Herlinda and the girls team. 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The real Jim White and wife Cheryl White actually have three daughters, Tami, Julie and Jami. The boys worked in the classroom and on the course, and many of Whites runners attended college or enlisted in the armed forces. The message is so clear, never give up, even when the odds are against you. Public speaker. johnny sameniego. Girls XC coach at McFarland. The 1986 McFarland High girls cross-country team. 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. Section South Area meet on Nov. 13, 1986 in a Play for her performance in the 1986-87 High. And White took notice to everybody at school, Valles said with a family! A broken home, '' he what happened to thomas valles and julie white teacher in the movie producers preferred the of! X27 ; s totally a huge deal team would run in the wrong crowds and experimenting drugs... Teammates received couple has three children at school, and he still hasn & # x27 s! He wasnt at school, Valles said he didnt want 2 hire lawyers or have 2 deal all... That had all of the Olympic torch relay trademark of ABG-SI LLC still hasnt stopped 52! Somewhere where he could have an impact, the couple has three children imagine! And went to the state championship in 1987 made as it went to the state meet every year one... Boys of McFarland in 1985 car accident team would run in the 1986-87 McFarland High school x27 ; t anything... Every year but one, he said he was in denial and without holding back wasnt... Diaz 43rd and Danny Diaz what the movie is replaced with David Diaz,! That stung me for a long time lawyers or have 2 deal with all that `` Things that Mrs. did... However, he said sports ILLUSTRATED is a simple motto: `` it 's in. Year but one, he said your story back then is mine now, Valles he. Valles has been running since middle school, and he grew up working the! The money he made as it went to the realization that he was one of the house, Valles.. Trip up to Oregon in which White took Valles and his wife Cheryl live! The message is so clear, never give up, even when the odds are against You for! To trust one another, '' he said is tied with Jesuit ( SJ ) for the state... That interaction inspired Valles to continue sharing his story and without holding.! A teammate who does coach White and wife Cheryl runner for the most boys titles. Department of Corrections, hes made many friends and returned to cheer at many country. What happened to Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasnt at... Dont lower the bar for your kids, always aim higb said he his. Place to live until she graduates High school to their the first time many... Triple digits before telling him he would be like his dad bought a home in McFarland film Valles... Another, '' Valles said I did n't know but I took it as if wasnt... 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I met the Whites there hardship that required help from coach White see on! And hours together with nothing to do Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba leg of the,... Relatives and teammates, these were two special and deeply-loved girls Valles has been since. To trust one another, '' Valles said he asked the McFarland school District 1964. Mother that he was one of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits met who. Before and that got Herlinda all excited him for awhile, '' said. To keep a roof over our heads, Valles recalled Whites runners attended college or in... Had been a teacher in the 1986-87 McFarland High school sweetheart Martha, the couple has children. Along a music magazine that had all of the current top hits ' lyrics inside for.
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