DEFO/DP/Flex explanation

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Dakota

DEFense Only. It was the descriptive and functional name of half of the DP/DEFO pair before NFHS decided to call the less flexible position in the pair the FLEX.

In case that little tortured sentence wasn't clear... DEFO is the old name for FLEX.

Don't blame NFHS for this one. NCAA was first to make the change; it seems the college coaches, all college graduates, most with graduate degrees, even some with doctorates, just couldn't grasp why a position called DEfense ONly could play offense (when she was no longer playing that position!! When you move your catcher to shortstop, she isn't catcher any more is she??) sometime during a game. They insisted a new name be coined, and FLEX was the NCAA creation. ASA agreed to accept the new term, for consistency; when NFHS decided to adopt the rule to replace the more baseball DH rule, it adopted the then universal names.