UNC trainer off to 'rough start'

Tar Heels' injuries keep Hirth busy

LAHAINA, HAWAII -- When Chris Hirth took over the head athletic trainer's job for North Carolina's men's basketball team last summer, he never imagined he'd be quite this busy, quite this soon.

"No, it's not what I envisioned," the 43-year-old said. "But it does happen, and it's why I'm here -- to handle and help these situations."

"These situations" include starter Marcus Ginyard's still-healing broken foot, reserve Mike Copeland's still-mending knee, freshman Tyler Zeller's newly fractured left wrist, and the stress reaction in All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough's right shin.

And that doesn't include all the bumps, bruises and pulls that don't require missed games.

Talk about being thrown into the fire.

"I tell him that so far, his performance should get him fired, and the good thing is, he doesn't know whether I'm teasing him or not," coach Roy Williams said, laughing. "But he's really a good person, he's thorough, he's extremely self-motivated, he cares about what he's doing. He's been sensational for us."

Hirth, who had worked with UNC's men's soccer, volleyball, swimming and diving, women's lacrosse, gymnastics and the track and field teams over the past dozen years, took over the job for Marc Davis, who retired after tending to men's hoops for three decades. Hirth remains in close contact with Davis, who left him with plenty of advice. Perhaps the most pertinent nugget these days: "Just do your job -- there's a lot of things you can't control."

Such as the sore spot that developed on Hansbrough's leg. The senior forward finally made his season debut last Friday after sitting out more than three weeks.

Such as Zeller landing awkwardly on his wrist during the win over Kentucky; he is likely sidelined for the rest of the season.

"Sometimes it can be frustrating, but it's really frustrating for the athlete," Hirth said. "I'm here to help -- it's part of doing the job, but for the guys, it's tough when you're told you're going to miss an amount of time."

Hirth moved from Wisconsin to Chapel Hill to get his master's degree in in the early 1990s. He said he doesn't know if he'll be around three decades like his predecessor, but he enjoys being that guy on the end of the bench -- always at the ready with ice, bandages, extra contact lenses and a caring demeanor.

His best medicine through trying times: "I try to think as positively as I can. It's only going to get better. There are more people in suits leaving [the spots beside] me, moving up bench.

"Even though one Tyler got a lot closer to me on the bench and had to put on a suit, I had another one leaving me and putting back on a game uniform. So that's the job."