A couple of words of advice, might or might not help. Practice. It's important. The more, the better, both alone, playing pick-up games, playing tourneys and leagues, any and all table time helps your game. That being said, the bare basics for practicing alone should include practicing the things you will be doing in a game, focus on passing the ball (easily the most important aspect of the forward game), catching the ball, dribbling the ball and ball control in general, and shooting the ball. Your passes and shots should be executed the same way you would in a game...set the ball up without using your hands, SIT on the ball (15 seconds is a long time, 2 seconds...mot so much), and visualize being in a match, match point, you make the shot you win...Practice doesn't make perfect....perfect practice makes perfect. Work on your weak points. Most people are right handed and don't spend nearly enough time practicing with their left. That's a weakness. The more times you have the ball, the better your odds are of scoring. This is all old news for most of the veterans in the group.