Former UNC pitcher Bryant Gaines to ?ll assistant coach role

When North Carolina pitcher Bryant Gaines injured his right elbow in his sophomore year, he only saw it as something that would keep him off the field.

He had no idea it would lead him to a career on it.

In order to maintain his eligibility for an extra semester as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Gaines had to add a minor to his course load — he chose coaching.

“I had to extend my hours out at the time,” Gaines said. “It was almost like the writing was on the wall — I just never decided to read it.

“It worked out great.”

Assistant coach Robert Woodard left coach Mike Fox’s staff in early August to take the pitching coach position at UNC-Wilmington.

That opened the door for Fox to hire a new volunteer assistant, and he decided that Gaines was the man for the job.

“He’s just a great person to be around every day,” Fox said. “He’s got a great demeanor, calm influence, and he really wanted to coach. I mean, he quit a full-time job to basically coach for nothing.

“That tells you how badly he wanted to be at North Carolina.”

The volunteer position is not paid by the University, but Fox said most of the compensation for that position comes from working baseball camps.

Gaines graduated from UNC in 2011 and was a part of four College World Series teams. In 35 appearances, Gaines registered a perfect 5-0 record. Ten of those appearances came after he returned from elbow surgery.

Now Gaines will have the chance to help the current Tar Heels through their own hardships.

“I can help guys if they have any arm issues, if they are coming back from any kind of surgery or injury — I can encourage them because I’ve been in the same shoes,” Gaines said.

“But also, if there are guys that are fighting for playing time, not getting to play as much as they want to, I can be encouraging because I’ve been there before.”

Gaines also said he was very grateful to Fox because he knew the Tar Heels’ skipper had plenty of other options and ones that likely had much more coaching experience than he did.

“You say he doesn’t really have experience from a coaching standpoint, but he certainly has experience in how to deal with adversity,” Fox said, “and how to persevere and how to be a team player and how to keep fighting. … There were all sorts of reasons for him to give up but that’s not in his personality. I think that’s why he’ll be a great coach.”

Fox also said that being a former Tar Heel pitcher and being familiar with the UNC system helped his case.

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.