Published: March 28, 2008 11:09 am         

'I can teach you a better way to kick that ball'

Years before he became a coach, Mike McMillan loved to coach. He loved to discover, and he loved to teach.

Allegany High School Principal Mike Calhoun, former head football coach at Williamsport, Keyser and Fort Hill high schools, found this out about 40 years ago at Beall Stadium. Calhoun was the quarterback and placekicker for the Mountaineers and every summer day he went to the stadium to practice his placekicking.

That's were he met Mike McMillan. He was there every day as well.

"I just assumed he was at Frostburg State at the time," said Calhoun. "It was the summer, I was practicing my kicking, he was there and introduced himself and said he was Fred McMillan's brother. Of course, I played against Fred when he was at Fort Hill, so I knew who he was."

All summer long, the two Mikes would meet at Beall Stadium and kick.

"We had competitions," Calhoun said. "The longest kickoff, the longest field goal, most consecutive extra points made, you name it.

"The competition was great. It made what otherwise would have been boring summer workouts seem pretty enjoyable. But I also learned a good deal from Mike. He gave me a lot of great pointers about kicking."

Mike McMillan, who passed away on Monday at the age of 60, always reminded me of the actor Brian Dennehy. Mike was a big, burly guy, who had light hair, with an Irish face and manner. He physically resembled Dennehy - at least to me he did - but he also reminded me of Dennehy - or at least many of the great characters Dennehy portrays.

You know how when you talk to somebody and you can't seem to see anything behind their eyes? Behind Mike's eyes you could see all sorts of energy; all sorts of action and adventure. You saw curiosity, particularly when it came to coaching; and you saw knowledge.

It seemed to me he was always picking the minds of coaches, athletes, or former athletes whenever I was around Mike McMillan, which wasn't nearly as often as I would have liked. On top of that, he liked to stay active with his interests. He always seemed to be on the go, being here and there, whether he was coaching football or baseball.

This guy was a coach, pure and simple, and as most coaches are, McMillan was a player of all sports during his youth, and in his brother Fred, former football great at Fort Hill and West Virginia University, he didn't have far to go for some pretty good competition.

Mike was always the big brother, make no mistake about it, and he was so proud of Fred that it poured out of those Brian Dennehy eyes. The same can be said for Fred's feelings for Mike. He looked up to Mike so much. That was plain to see when you saw the two of them together, and when you saw the brothers McMillan together, you saw the two best friends in the world.

I, for one, will always be indebted to Mike because one night I somehow managed to accidentally tick off Fred so much - yes, a sheer stroke of genius on my part - he wanted to make a MacTatties potato out of my skull. Mike, however, used calm and reason to convince Fred it wouldn't be much of a seller, and my skull was thankfully spared.

Mike played football and baseball at Fort Hill and graduated in 1965. During the time he was teaching Calhoun how to kick, he also managed to find the time to graduate from Frostburg State, where he also played football and baseball. He received his master's degree from Towson State University with a 4.0 grade-point average. He then was able to fulfill his calling and began a long career teaching and coaching at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, where he spent his happiest times coaching his sons, Mike and J.P.

Mike and the late Elrod Hendricks came to be great friends. Mike would coach Elrod's sons, Ryan and Ian, at McDonogh as the two friends had founded the Elrod Hendricks Baseball Camp in 1981 and conducted it together for many years. The school remains one of the top baseball camps for children, ages 7-16, in the Baltimore area.

Still, Mike's thoughts and assistance were never far from home.

"He was the head coach at McDonogh," Calhoun said, "and when I got to Fort Hill, we continued our friendship. I called him periodically when we were looking for games, and he was always very helpful.

"As I said, I played against Fred, so I always admired Fred. But certainly I will always be grateful for everything Mike did for me, as a player and a coach."

In 1979, Mike was named High School Football Coach of the Year in the Baltimore metropolitan area by The Quarterback Club of Baltimore. He was inducted into the McDonogh School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 2000, the Frostburg State College Alumni presented Mike with the Alumni Coaching Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to coaching.

"Mike was always a great guy - a very level-headed kind of guy," Calhoun said. "I can understand why he was such a good coach and so well respected. We were both involved in the Maryland Football Coaches Association, and throughout the state, Mike was very highly thought of.

"A lot of people, myself included, are lucky Mike McMillan came along."

Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.