When Christopher Haddad walks onto the diamond, he brings more than a clipboard and a lineup card. The McGill baseball head coach, now in his second season at the helm, carries with him the weight of the program’s history, the lessons of his own playing days, and a belief that joy is as essential as discipline.
Haddad’s ties to McGill run deep. From 2009-2012, he shone on the field as a student-athlete, balancing his love for baseball with the academic rigour of one of Canada’s most demanding universities.
“I was smart enough to get by without doing many of the readings,” he joked in an interview with The Tribune, “but McGill gave me the chance to grow, both as a player and as a person.”
Haddad’s decision to attend McGill was shaped by his CEGEP peers at John Abbott College and his early fascination with sports psychology—a field he would later pursue through a master’s degree in human kinetics and recreation.
After completing his master’s, Haddad cycled through teaching and coaching roles at Pierrefonds Baseball Club and Dawson College before returning full circle to McGill. Initially, Haddad admitted, the leap to university coaching was daunting.
“At the CEGEP level, you have a lot more support staff,” he recalled. “At McGill, the responsibilities are heavier, [with] recruiting, administration, [and] gear orders. I wasn’t prepared at first, but the Athletics Department has been patient, and, over time, I’ve grown into [the role]. Now, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Haddad’s coaching framework can be summed up in two words: “Fun and detailed.”
“If you enjoy something, you’re going to work harder for it. That’s the fun,” he explained. “But the detail is just as important. Whether you [are completing] ten reps or a hundred, make them the best reps you can. It’s about quality and intent.”
For Haddad, enjoyment and precision are not opposites, but work in harmony to build resilient and well-rounded athletes. This perspective is especially important for the upcoming 2025-2026 season, a self-described “rebuild year” for McGill baseball. When 15 key players graduated last spring—enough to make a starting lineup—Haddad entered this season with only two returning starters.
“It’s not easy to bring in half a new squad and get them performing the way you want,” he admitted.
Yet Haddad sees opportunity in the challenge.
“I always had to find ways to beat bigger, stronger players,” he shared. “I’m trying to instill a mentality of finding the way, no matter the odds in this group. I don’t want athletes who constantly ask, ‘What did I do wrong?’ I want them to think for themselves, to be self-motivated, to become aware of their own game.”
Off the field, Haddad is equally concerned with the team’s balance. He remembers stepping away from McGill’s baseball program in his final year as a student to focus on academics, and he makes sure his players also know that school comes first.
“I’ve seen too many athletes burn out from overtraining and overthinking,” Haddad emphasized. “If the game stops being fun, no one performs at their best.”
Haddad is candid about the obstacles facing McGill baseball, beyond his roster. University baseball in Quebec is at a crossroads. Rival programs have folded, Concordia’s team is suspended, and the province is teetering on the edge of lacking a legitimate league.
“It’s frustrating because there’s talent in Quebec,” Haddad said. “But without a sustainable league, we’re left piecing together a 30-game exhibition schedule. I don’t want to see baseball fail at McGill or anywhere else.”
Despite this uncertainty, Haddad remains grounded in what matters most for his players: The experience.
“There’s nothing like being on a varsity team, [experiencing] the friendships, the late practices, the chaos of balancing class and competition,” Haddad expressed. “You miss it when it’s gone.”
In the end, that is the heart of Haddad’s philosophy: Fun and detail, challenge and growth. McGill baseball may be rebuilding, but with a coach who blends rigour with positivity, the program’s future looks as promising as its past.
