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CHULA VISTA -- Flash president Yan Skwara admitted yesterday he was more than a little concerned when then-head coach Ralf Wilhelms walked into Skwara's office on July 6 and resigned to take a job in Hungary.
Skwara said publicly then that the move wouldn't hurt his team, but he conceded yesterday that he believed the opposite.
It's turned out Skwara's public sentiments were correct. Since assistant coach Costa Skouras took over for Wilhelms, the Flash has been on a tear. A 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Bay Seals yesterday before 1,219 at Southwestern College's Devore Stadium gave the Flash an 8-1 record under Skouras.
"When Ralf told me he was going to Hungary, I just didn't think something like that would happen in the middle of my season," said Skwara, whose team was 8-5 when Wilhelms resigned. "I was a little concerned, very concerned.
"I just said everything happens for a reason. We looked at it offensively, not defensively, as an opportunity, not a challenge."
The coaching change really can be looked at offensively -- literally. Wilhelms favored a strategy emphasizing defense and using just one forward. Skouras immediately implemented a two-forward system. The result? The Flash has scored 24 goals in the nine games under Skouras. It had just 20 in 13 games under Wilhelms.
Some of the players, though, said the benefit of the coaching change is something more intangible.
"I just think we're able to play with more freedom now," said midfielder Kevin Legg. "We're not as stressful. Not that Ralf was intimidating, but a lot of players were afraid to mess up or they would be out of there. We just play now and we don't panic."
The star of yesterday's game, midfielder Nate Hetherington, subscribes to the theory that the Flash was going to start winning at an impressive clip no matter who the coach was.
"We're doing awesome," said Hetherington, who scored the Flash's first goal in the 48th minute and threaded a perfect pass to Christian Escalera on the team's other scoring play three minutes later. "We feel confident every time we come out there.
"Honestly, I think it's just that we've been playing together for a long time now. When we first started, we didn't know each other. Now we do."
The Flash remained in what would be the top-seeded spot for next month's A-League Western Conference playoffs. San Diego has six regular-season games remaining and next plays Friday at home against Milwaukee.
The Flash has signed defender Jaime Munro to a two-year contract. Munro is the only player under contract for next season so far.
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