I coach a team of 7 and 8-year-olds, most of whom are (understandably) pretty new at basketball. A few of them are fairly "on the ball" (pardon the pun) on offense, but most of the kids run all around (sometimes even in circles) and are unaware of where the ball is. Reminding them over and over again of what they need to do has not helped much. Are there any drills or games I can use to keep them alert as to where the ball is, or does this phenomenon just go with this age group? Thanks!

Coach,

Good luck, this is a tough age group... make this as simple as possible for them... KISS method we call that.

Kids that age are squirrley enough without adding all the fundamentals that are necessary to help them play the game.

You might try putting down some Xs with tape and have them pass and cut to the basket while everyone moves to fill a spot (X) I've never coached kids of this age so I can only imagine what that is like... I have coached kids from 5th grade all the way up to Varsity boys and believe me.... it happens on all levels... (not as bad as on yours I am sure)

Just keep working with them, don't worry about the Ws, try to teach them something about the game every time you are with them and MAKE SURE THEY HAVE FUN.