Left-handed forehand play

I'm a lefty who has just  started getting into club level play (I'm not even close to their skill but it's the right place for me to be).  However, most of the players are right handed and this leads to many points lost on a wide shot to my forehand corner due to poor positioning.  To compound onto this, I am more confident in my backhand than my forehand so my position and my bat position are all a dead giveaway to the opponent who wants a free point from me.  I would like to get more confidence in my forehand but coming around the ball when it's coming straight to me or on my backhand side kinda scares me.

 How can I encourage more forehand shots while avoiding lost points by wide shots to my forehand corner? 

Hi Gerrit,

Great move.  joining a club is definitely a great way to improve, even if they are a lot better than you at the moment.

Think about angles when you are playing.  As a left hander, if you play to their backhand corner they have the opportunity to get you wide on your forehand.  Perhaps play a little more to the middle of the table.

Secondly, take a look at your feet posiiton.  You will probably find that you are turned slightly favouring your backhand side, with your left foot slightly closer to the table.  Just turn your feet so that you have your right foot slightly closer to the table than your left. This will put you in a more comfortabel position to play forehands.

Practice you forehand firstly from one position and then by doing a set movement drill.  Perhaps getting someone to feed the ball to 2 positions while you move between the two playing forehands form both positions.  Practice playing forehands from the middle of the table especially.  This will give you the confidence to play it from this posiiton in a game.

This and a lot of other drills can be foun on our Training Secrets Revealed DVD.