When Coach Beau McMillian got the opportunity to return as the assistant coach with the Falmouth Commodores for another season, the decision was an easy one.

For McMillian, returning to the Commodores was returning to the great people who work here.

For him, the great people who are here were the reason why. “I love the organization,” McMillian said. “The people from the top down, you can't really tell who's the president, who's the GM, and, you know, who the interns are. Everybody's doing their part. It's just really good people that care about the organization. That's what I like being a part of.”

Being the only returning coach, McMillian has had the chance to show them around Falmouth and places they may pass on the way to games. “Anytime we pass somewhere if we're driving to Chatham or wherever we're going, I'm like, that's a great place to eat. We stopped there last year.

That's a great place. So showing them all over Falmouth has been great, and showing them all the great places to eat.”

A former Division II player at Lynn University in Florida, McMillian got drafted out of college and spent about three years with the Florida Marlins organization and another year with an independent professional team. When his playing career was coming to an end, he found a calling with coaching.

His transition from player to coach was easy. The coach of the last professional team he played for gave him some advice that helped him realize coaching was the path he wanted and was ready to take on. That advice was “some guys are meant to make it to the big leagues, and some guys are meant to help others get to the big leagues.”

That’s when things really clicked for McMillian. “I always thought I was a guy that, you know, was meant to get to the big leagues, and I realized, at that moment, hey, I think my new journey is to not necessarily help everybody get to the big leagues, but be a coach and help guys become better people and better civilians and, you know, better teammates and ball players along the way.”

In the fall of 2008, McMillian returned to his alma mater to become an assistant coach. During his six seasons, the Lynn University Fighting Knights had a record of 188-127, reaching the NCAA tournament three times. The Fighting Knights won the NCAA Championship in the 2009 season.

He became the assistant coach of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s baseball team in 2015 and remained there for 10 years. For him, he feels “so very fortunate and very blessed to be able to coach two college baseball programs in my hometown.”

Along with his collegiate coaching experience, McMillian spent ten years as the head coach of Delray Beach Lightning. Under his leadership, the team won the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League Championship in 2022.

Along with being the Assistant Head Coach of the Commodores, McMillian is also the director for the youth clinics that the Commodores run. For him, having the Commodores understand how much having him and the players there for the kids is crucial. “It's like, hey, you guys have an impact and you need to kind of be aware of that,” McMillian says. “It's really special when you make them look back, and think hey, who did that for you? We try to put that in our guy's head and make them cognizant and aware of the fact that, I know it's just probably another camp for you, but man, this means everything to the kids. That one little kid that you might take on a restroom break , but you just had a conversation with them about Pokemon along the way or whatever it is.”

The youth clinics aren’t the only time he has worked with youth. In 2008, McMillan started working at a baseball training facility. He helped give lessons to kids every day. But the training facility ended up turning into one that helped some great players, such as Ryan Howard, Magli Ordonias, Miguel Tajada, and Manny Ramirez.

Coaching on the Cape has taught him many things that are different from what he learned coaching baseball at college. For him, coaching on the Cape means helping these players in a different way. “These guys are the best in the country. I would love to give my expertise on hitting or fielding.” The kind of coaching he does gives them “perspective on life and understanding, like everything that's meant for you will happen, and you just gotta kind of trust in that and have fun and enjoy it while you're here.”

When these players look back on their time with the Commodores, McMillian hopes they not only take away that he loves the game of baseball, but that he “is a genuine guy that cares about us, loves the game of baseball, but loves people more, loves their relationships. I just hope that when they leave here they speak well about me as a person. Somebody that cared for them more than just a baseball guy.”