The fall of Afghanistan and the situation within the pacific has the United States begun to loosen After Life (Victor Puentes/McFarland USA). 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. I dont know if it changed everybody else, but it changed me.. "David and Danny (Diaz) are in education. And he considers Coach Whites wife, Cheryl, to be an unsung heroine of the story. The Whites had three daughters. Diaz, a 17-year veteran of the department, was arrested at BPD headquarters Friday morning. champions. He rebuilt both the boys' and girls' cross-country teams, despite only the boys' team being featured in the film. 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. Without them, there wouldnt be a legacy.. He also allegedly stole drugs that were supposed to be booked into evidence. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. He takes full responsibility for that now. Hollywood's fictional fingers are all over how the story is framed but in the big picture, the film captures the essence of the main characters and the story quite well on the big screen. Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. -KGET 17, No. "I was getting interviewed by the Bakersfield Californian (newspaper). Desperate for work, he moves his wife (Maria Bello) and daughters (Morgan Saylor and Elsie Fisher) from Idaho to McFarland, CA, a rural town that's predominately Latino and the only place willing to give him a teaching job. Now he has nothing but the highest regard for White. His Exact Measurements are Still Under Investigation We Will Soon Update. "You try to offer them the same thing we offered our girls," White said. After that, the Cougars were the easy favorites to win the first small schools division (D-III) State Meet title. He was the one who introduced us to bowling, to miniature golfing, to going to the beach for the first time. 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. Since he graduated from Californias McFarland High School in 1989, he has battled drug addiction and spent time in prison. David, however, graduated the year before McFarland's first state title win. Thomas Valles went on to become a prison guard (LA Times). They talk about being 'McFarland' Movie Helps One of Original Runners Get Back On Track, For Victor Puentes, one of the subjects of the Disney film. Its not about me, its not about the other runners. Victor Puentes is just to his left. 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. He and his family relocate to his new job at McFarland High School in McFarland, California, which is predominantly Latino. For more California news, follow @brittny_mejia. Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. In McFarland, USA, Jim White (Kevin Costner) takes a job as the physical education teacher at a . When we needed something, she tried her best to provide for us, even though we had our own families. "I looked over at the reporter and I said 'We won. He got into the truck and began to talk with Coach White about his difficulties at home. Johnny is an educator and is still coaching. White, 79, said his experience at Franklin shaped his path toward McFarland. The movies about Mr. White. Jose Cardenas, McFarland's expected No. Though the film portrays Puentes as a ladies man, he says he was actually the shyest person on the team. Update, February 19, 2015: I found these additional photos from my coverage of the 1986 South Area championship at Hart Park. 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.. "I didn't ride the Barbie bike," White said. Its also a testament to parents, dont lower the bar for your kids, always aim higb. - I know, right. 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. This is the team featured in the movie McFarland USA, which opens to general release on February 20. - Yeah. "I abruptly stopped the interview and took off," he said about joining his teammates. " They're all professionals. Sophomore Johnny Samaniego was 12th overall (sixth in scoring). 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). However, he had been a teacher in the McFarland School District since 1964, following his graduation from Pepperdine University. I wish I had the time to start, Puentes says. It's based on a true story, but not everything's very factual, but it's still an enjoyable movie. Your email address will not be published. "Sometimes I helped them work in the fields," says the real Coach Jim White, "but more importantly, I had practice at a different time. 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. [10][11] The film was released in Canada under its original title, McFarland. Youre just thinking about your life or whatever is going on around you at the time., Puentes former McFarland cross country teammate Danny Diaz recently .css-1hr08dr{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#59E7ED;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-1hr08dr:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}told 23ABC News, He made some bad choices and hes the first to tell you, You know what? "I can't speak for everybody, I can speak for myself," Valles said. The indictment states Diazprovided the drug dealer with information on law enforcement practices and activities, disclosed the names and identities of police informants and tipped the dealer off to police investigations, including information on a wiretap probe. Because Thomas Valles, McFarlands top runner in 1987, is the focal point of all these photos, this was most likely a profile I was assigned to shoot of him in advance of the state championship meet. Since he graduated from Californias McFarland High School in 1989, he has battled drug addiction and spent time in prison. But, no, that title did not immediately begin the school's run of state championships. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) *** Local Caption *** Damacio Diaz. "We didn't really train like that.". He enlists Sameniego's help and recruits Thomas Valles, Jose Cardenas, Victor Puentes and brothers David, Damacio and Danny Diaz. Im done. The judge sentenced me to a time period that we believe is fair.. 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.. McFarland, USA. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Valles said he asked the McFarland principal if the team had won. Many of the citizens of McFarland were extras in the movie. "My parents divorced. Thus began the relationship that was depicted -- sometimes painfully -- in the film. The team would go on to launch a dynasty by winning the first of nine state championships. Slowly we became better and better at it, Puentes says. That made us work harder. Danny Diaz was not overweight as a child. Plainview Herald. White continued teaching and coaching in McFarland until his retirement in 2003 and after that he continued living in McFarland. They came back. He and his wife Cheryl met at Magic Valley Christian College in Idaho. Well acted and tremendously inspirational. Coach Jim White Interview & the Diaz Family Looks Back, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. He took care of us, he fed us, he clothed us. Another blast is on the way. Now he has nothing but the highest regard for White. Diaz disclosed the names of criminal informants to Magallanes so the dealer would not conduct business with them and become a target of law enforcement. McFarland was not a desperate last resort. I just dont need it anymore. The whole team. 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. Let's do it because it's the right thing to do. Three out of the seven young McFarland USA cast actors on the team in the movie are from the McFarland areaSergio Avelar who plays Victor Puentes and Michael Aguero, cast as Damacio Diaz, are actual runners and Ramiro Rodriguez, as Danny Diaz, was a champion soccer player. No, sir. It made me rethink the choices that Ive made in the past, because I had a bad past. We developed a program. He started teaching in the McFarland school district after graduating from, White did not establish the cross-country team at the school, but instead restarted it after it had been dropped for a year. No. "Thomas didn't have anger management and Danny wasn't fat," White said when asked about inaccuracies in the film. 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. Jim White, a school football coach at odds with the system and players, takes a job as an assistant football coach at McFarland. 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