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Aug 23, 2019 · Overcomer: Directed by Alex Kendrick. With Alex Kendrick, Priscilla C. Shirer, Cameron Arnett, Shari Rigby. A high-school basketball coach is asked to take over the cross-country program, where he encounters a troubled teen.
- (5.4K)
- Drama, Family, Sport
- Alex Kendrick
- 2019-08-23
- Did Jim White Really Start Coaching at Mcfarland High School in 1987?
- Had Jim White Really Been Fired from Several Prior Teaching Jobs?
- Did Jim White Really Create A Cross Country Team at McFarland?
- Does Jim White Really Have Two Daughters?
- Did The Kids Really Nickname Jim White "Blanco"?
- Is Mcfarland High School Really Located Across The Street from A Prison?
- Did Coach White Really Follow The Boys on A Bicycle?
- Were The Diaz Brothers Really Forbidden by Their Mother from Competing?
- Did Coach White Really Help The Kids Work in The fields?
- Were Their Opponents Really Snobby Rich Kids Who Looked Down on them?
No, the real Coach Jim White actually started coaching cross country at McFarland High School in 1980. However, he had been a teacher in the McFarland School District since 1964, following his graduation from Pepperdine University. Back then, McFarland was largely white demographically. He retired in 2003 after 23 years of coaching boys cross count...
No. As stated above, the real Jim White started teaching in the McFarland School District straight out of college in 1964. 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. His first teaching position in ...
Not exactly. Jim White restarted the program in 1980 after it had been dropped for a year. However, he did rebuild the boys and girls cross country programs from the ground up. -Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 12
The real Jim White and wife Cheryl White actually have three daughters, Tami, Julie and Jami. Julie and Jami are depicted in the McFarland, USA movie. 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 three girls graduated with de...
Yes. Inspired by the irony of his last name, "Blanco" was one of the nicknames that the kids and their families gave Jim White. -LA Times
McFarland High School is actually just down the road from the Central Valley Correctional Facility, not across the street. Though it is very close, Jim White likely wouldn't have had a clear view of it from his classroom window, as a street of homes separates the school's athletic fields from the prison grounds.
Yes. A 1997 LA Timesarticle described it as a rickety, worn bicycle, but did not state that it was a girl's bicycle like in the movie. However, similar to the film, Jim White had never been a runner himself and used the bike to follow the team during their workouts.
Yes. The McFarland, USA true story confirms that at first, the mother of the Diaz brothers -- David, Damacio and Danny -- forbid them from competing. She eventually concluded that it was good for them as long as they still worked. -BakersfieldCalifornian.com
Yes. To make up for the time they couldn't work in the fields due to cross country practice, Jim White would sometimes give his time to them by helping them pick in the fields. "Sometimes I helped them work in the fields," says the real Coach Jim White, "but more importantly, I had practice at a different time. If one or two of those boys couldn't ...
Likely not. Local photojournalist John Harte, who followed the team at the time, says that he witnessed opposing teams offer genuine handshakes of good luck. This included members of the Bakersfield High Drillers. In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers.
Based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a mainly Latino high school in McFarland, California, the film stars Kevin Costner as Jim White, the school's coach, who leads the team to win a state championship.
- $17 million
- Gordon Gray, Mark Ciardi
Feb 27, 2015 · Craig Virgin, now 59, was a cross country monster in his day. Still the only American man to ever win the World Cross Country Championship—twice, actually, in 1980 and 1981—he also set seven ...
- Jon Gugala
Nov 29, 2020 · Yes, McFarland is an inspirational story. Yes, the McFarland High boys did win a team title at the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships held in 1987. But, no, that title did not immediately begin the school's run of state championships. In fact, McFarland, despite winning the Division III title in 1987 with a mostly underclassman lineup ...
Feb 4, 2015 · Feb 4, 2015 9:00am PT. Film Review: ‘McFarland, USA’. Kevin Costner stars as a high-school P.E. teacher coaching an all-Latino cross-country team in this predictable sports drama. By Justin...
