I know your question is about his eyesight,

but I have to say I'd be more concerned about the possible head injuries that could occur, making his vision even worse.  My boys both signed up for football last year - one for flag (6 years old) and one for pee-wee.  I didn't mind the flag, obviously, but they did practice a lot.  The pee-wee, however, did not last long.  My son made it through the *conditioning* week - I prefer to refer to this as hazing.  He's a good-sized kid, but the 3-4 hours a night of practice 5 days a week was ridiculous.  It was 90-100 degrees out and they practiced the entire week of the fair from 5-8p.  The parents don't have a life while this is going on.  After about 2 weeks, my son had had enough of being their bean-bag. 

As for the $45 (our sign-up was $40), I'm glad I spent it.  If I'd have said no to signing up, he'd have spent the next few months driving me nuts about how much he wanted to play.  Fortunately, he got out before he got hurt.  Another kid was not so lucky and ended up with a concussion.  I think these coaches need to use some common sense and realize that this is not the NFL and no one's going to make or lose a million bucks on a game.  Your friend is not exaggerating about the haze.  Make sure your son knows that.  My son knows and agrees he will not be trying out for football again until junior high.  As for my flagger, last year was his last year of flag and he will be waiting for junior high as well. 

• Can a kid with really bad eyesight play football? - XanaX
  • If he can play baseball with his vision... - mt
  • I know your question is about his eyesight, - mtroadie
  • football - anon
  • What about soccer? Bigger, more brightly-colored - (sm) - LowlyMT

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My boy, Eddie, is seven years old.  He has retinitis pigmentosa and gradually worsening decreasing vision.  His vision without glasses is 20/200 and best corrected is 20/60.  He does pretty well with baseball, especially after he had the bilateral rectus recession surgery and now both eyes are working together.

Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be football sign-ups, and I've been going back and forth about getting him involved or not.  He's not all the way sure if he wants to do it either.  I talked to some moms today, and they explained to me how grueling this five-day course of "conditioning" is.  They described to me that most kids throw up from being overworked and go home crying.  Doesn't sound like the best way for me to spend $45.  He's not the toughest kid on the block, or any block for that matter, and I really don't know which way to go here.  Any advice, football moms?