There was alcohol or drug abuse in their homes. He takes full responsibility for that now. "As soon as Mr. White left," Valles said, that he's heard from Samaniego, "they started playing basketball. 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). Yes. At the time of the crimes, he was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force and the Southern Tri-County Task Force of the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The family has trouble adjusting to the Hispanic neighborhood and lament being unable to afford to live in Bakersfield. Juanita Diaz. Is McFarland, USA Sad? "I was getting interviewed by the Bakersfield Californian (newspaper). Despite the group's insistence that Julie was protected, Jim questions his family's safety in McFarland and interviews for a full-time position at Palo Alto that he was previously offered, upsetting Julie and Thomas. That made us work harder. Nine boys state titles is tied with Jesuit (SJ) for the most boys team titles in state history. Its just something to be proud of. Did they run over piles of almonds to simulate hills? We're still here hopefully trying to make a positive difference in our communities.". He recently retired as a California State Correctional officer supervising adult males. Soon enough, White is connecting with his young charges, particularly a gifted athlete named Thomas (Carlos Pratts), and the squad set their sights on a state championship.. 1987. According to the indictment, Magallanes paid Diaz to tip him off to law enforcement investigations and in general to protect him from arrest and prosecution. Also, take a closer look at the Diaz family, who had seven children run for McFarland. Let's do it because it's the right thing to do. He also said he didn't have a relationship with his baseball coach and questioned why there couldn't have been a better relationship. Discovering that some of his students are strong runners, White has Principal Camillo authorize cross-country as a sport and organizes an all-boys team. "Sometimes I helped them work in the fields," says the real Coach Jim White, "but more importantly, I had practice at a different time. A detective with the Bakersfield Police Department whose exploits as a high school cross-country athlete were highlighted in the Disney film "McFarland, USA, has been indicted for allegedly accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for assisting a drug dealer in his methamphetamine operation. Below we tell the story of White, Valles and the 1987 championship team and point out areas of Hollywood fiction. -LA Times. Some, like David Diaz, became teachers themselves. Seneca School, Sure, Ill help as best I can. "He had to be wondering, 'Hey, what am I doing up here?' "We had no idea, with him not performing that day, if we'd actually won it. While the school's football team is as bad as most that he has coached, the one thing he does notice is that out of necessity many of the boys have the stamina to run long distances quickly. children ran for Jim White and all seven "I abruptly stopped the interview and took off," he said about joining his teammates. " "I was blessed that I got the opportunity to be apart of something that kept me off the streets of McFarland. While on duty on Sept. 20, 2012, Diaz stopped a vehicle operated by two people from Yakima, Wash., and used a police dog handler and police dog to search the car. He also allegedly stole drugs that were supposed to be booked into evidence. Jim White restarted the program in 1980 after it had been dropped for a year. It soon became a dominant program among small schools in Northern California. Warning "My parents divorced. ', "After awhile, I realized there is some hints of my true story.". "We did what we could to help him. Jim White (Costner) finds his days as a football coach numbered when an incident with a player leads to his dismissal. Did that happen? The Tunnel Is a 200-Mile Race Through Darkness, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. However, similar to the film, Jim White had never been a runner himself and used the bike to follow the team during their workouts. After a few regional competitions, the team wins its first race. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. interview. Many of the citizens of McFarland were extras in the movie. And hes optimistic that the film will be the catalyst that helps him stay away from drugs for good. Puentes is proud to be recognized for his role in the teams accomplishments nearly 28 years later, and that the film has put his hometown on the map. Feel free to email jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv. Puentes joined the McFarland cross country team as a freshman, after Coach Jim White showed up at his house and asked if he was interested in joining the team. White said he left Stockton to visit his parents for Thanksgiving. Did Coach White ride his bike as the boys ran? This page was last edited on 1 September 2022, at 05:39. McFarland, USA (2015) Starring Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Hector Duran It's not a documentary. Yes. The chief said Diaz and the drug trafficker, Guillermo Magallanes, had known each other for quite some time and that Magallanes had been working as a BPD informant. The 16-count indictment against Damacio Diaz, 43, was unsealed Thursday. White finds the potential for cross-country in few students at the school. Overall, McFarland, USA is a PG-rated movie with an uplifting, inspirational message. You dont feel your feet hitting the [ground] anymore, you dont feel that youre out of breath. SAC and everywhere we could find competition that could make us better. In 1987, football coach Jim White loses his job after he loses his temper and accidentally injures a team player in the locker room. Subscribe to Popcorn Talk Network's YouTube Channel @ http://youtube.com/popcorntalknetwork Check out all the. I was lucky enough to get one of the best looking guyshes the best looking guy of all of them, so Im proud that he played me, Puentes says. After that, the Cougars were the easy favorites to win the first small schools division (D-III) State Meet title. However, he did rebuild the boys and girls cross country programs from the ground up. The legendary former McFarland Hi there! In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers. "Danny, he passed up Jose out there somewhere," White recalled. Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. When you run long distance, you just lose yourself. 5, was not in the picture. Retired - living in McFarland. At times, Diaz purchased meth from Magallanes for personal use, the indictment states. Im done. The principal shook his head. All the members of the first team become the first in their families to go to college or into military careers. Host Keetin Marchi interviews Victor Puentes at the McFarland, USA premiere. McFarland USA Movie Review. 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. However, he had been a teacher in the McFarland School District since 1964, following his graduation from Pepperdine University. And he considers Coach Whites wife, Cheryl, to be an unsung heroine of the story. In seventh grade, Valles said his PE teacher (White) introduced himself and said he coached cross country and track. The film was previously slated for a November 21, 2014 release, under the title McFarland,[9] but was pushed back to February 20, 2015 and given a new title. He got into the truck and began to talk with Coach White about his difficulties at home. However, I believe the Diaz family did go 2 court & the school paid them an undisclosed amount. "McFarland's Family of Champions," are David Diaz is behind Victor wearing a white t-shirt and McFarland hat. . Diaz turned his back on those opportunities and broke the trust his community placed in him, violating the very laws he was sworn to enforce.. He attended California Polytechnic State University for two years, but he had to drop out because he didnt have enough money to continue and his mother was sick. [10][11] The film was released in Canada under its original title, McFarland. Did he ride a pink girls 'Barbie' bike, or was it only Costner? He enlists Sameniego's help and recruits Thomas Valles, Jose Cardenas, Victor Puentes and brothers David, Damacio and Danny Diaz. Slowly we became better and better at it, Puentes says. I didn't do that until I met the Whites. "That's how we developed that. "Just getting everybody to believe in themselves," Valles said was how White developed and maintained the program at such a high level. White said the team would run in the heat of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits. It made me rethink the choices that Ive made in the past, because I had a bad past. The McFarland girls cross-country team ran in the California Interscholastic Federation South . It was indeed the first time that many of the kids ever saw the ocean. White coached for 23 years from 1980 through 2002 and he came back for one year in 2003. The answers are in chronological order. When we needed something, she tried her best to provide for us, even though we had our own families. "He took care of us, he fed us, he clothed us. McFarland tragedy gave boys heart to win. Jim White, a high school teacher and football coach, has been fired from one job after another, as the desired end of getting people to do the right thing in his mind has not always justified his sometimes impetuous and spontaneous actions as the means. They're men of color. His Exact Measurements are Still Under Investigation We Will Soon Update. Director Niki Caro wanted to feature more family in the film, so Luis Partida, who was on the team, was replaced with David Diaz, Damacio and Danny's brother. Brittny Mejia is a Metro reporter who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2014. Based on the 1987 true story, McFarland USA movie follows the lives of athletes from McFarland, a predominately Latino community in California Central Valley as they build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner). I just dont need it anymore. [4] The film also stars Maria Bello and Morgan Saylor. He takes full responsibility for that now. Not exactly. "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. I was lucky enough to get one of the best looking guyshes the best looking guy of all of them, so Im proud that he played me, Puentes says. Well acted and tremendously inspirational. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Its not about me, its not about the other runners. Im a better person because of this movie and because of my wife, family, and everybody else. He also allegedly filed false federal tax returns. Central Valley. [5] Negotiations for Kevin Costner to star were finalized in July 2013. She was the real (team) mother hugging their sweaty bodies when they came in.". Listen Closely (Victor Puentes/McFarland USA Fanfic). But thanks to the film, hes been given a new lease on life. No, the real Coach Jim White actually started coaching cross country at McFarland High School in 1980. He showed Valles how . They're all professionals. She wrote Victor every chance she could get. The. Valles said he asked the McFarland principal if the team had won. Thomas received a degree and served our country before returning to McFarland to raise a family and also help coach the McFarland . 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. A struggling coach and teacher who has had to move around for different incidents in his career finally comes to one of the poorest cities in America: McFarland, California. We knew we had the potential coming into '87. Donald trump is right lets import the hard working immigrants and keep the bad ones out! The movies about Mr. White. He was there to attend the world premiere of Disneys McFarland, USA, which chronicled the 1987 McFarland High School cross-country team, on which Diaz and two of his brothers competed. Jim White, Coach Behind McFarland Movie: Its a Running Town Now, .css-1ck2l7d{display:block;font-family:Sailec,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1ck2l7d:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1.2rem;line-height:1.4;}}.css-1ck2l7d h2 span:hover{color:#CDCDCD;}The Tunnel Is a 200-Mile Race Through Darkness, Usain Bolt Mysteriously Loses Millions of Dollars, Fall Causes Chaos at the Valencia 10K Start, Theres No Way NFL Players Are Faster Than Bolt, Boston Bomber Attorney Asks to Toss Death Penalty, Colleges Drop Body Composition Testing for Runners, He Ran the Length of the Toronto Subway System, Polish Runner Sets Womens 12-Hour World Record, B.A.A. Inspired by the irony of his last name, "Blanco" was one of the nicknames that the kids and their families gave Jim White. Though Puentes doesnt see much of himself in the films portrayal, he says thats not whats important. Just two weeks before he was placed on leave, Diaz posed for photos on the red carpet at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Danny Diaz was not overweight as a child. Thomas Valles went on to become a prison guard (LA Times). Were you an athlete, coach, organizer who took part in the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships in 1987? White continued teaching and coaching in McFarland until his retirement in 2003 and after that he continued living in McFarland. In 1964, after graduating from Pepperdine, White was hired to teach middle school science in McFarland. picking in the fields. For Victor Puentes, one of the subjects of the Disney film McFarland, USA, life has not exactly followed a Hollywood storyline. When a police officer misuses his badge to commitcrimes for personal profit, it is the ultimate betrayal of public trust, Wagner said. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 2, 2015 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. No contact since high school. The McFarland athletes are farm workers before they arrive . Within this situation, many of those in the next generation have little chance of getting out of this life, many turning to crime as a means to survive. "But we'd try to run in the shade in the almonds," he said. Both Valles and White said the movie producers preferred the idea of three Diaz brothers on the team rather than just two. It's all Hollywood. He was, however, the seventh person on the team and still instrumental to its 1987 state title win. 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