(Another great sports tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com)

If you’ve watched any of the Little League World Series you’ve certainly noticed how hard the pitchers throw: 65, 70 even 73 miles per hour shows up on the gun. One of the big issues a hitter faces as he starts playing on regional and national levels is the ability to hit the high-speed fastball.

Typically you will see players swing a weighted bat on deck in order to “gear up” for the cheese. If this is part of your routine I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this will not increase your bat speed and, in most cases, will actually decrease it—obviously not what you want.

This is because when you swing a heavy bat 15 percent or greater than your game bat you not only change your mechanics (which leads to inconsistent batting mechanics) you also teach your body to swing slow. Sure the bat will feel lighter in your hands, but you will swing slower. Now it is OK to loosen up the shoulders and wrist by moving a heavy bat around your body, just don’t replicate your swing.

I know by now you’re saying, “Jon, if a heavy bat will hinder me, what should I do?”

It’s quite simple really, swing a lighter bat! Swing a bat 10-15 percent lighter than your normal game bat on deck 5 to 8 times. Try to be as quick as possible when you do it. This will increase your game bat speed because now your body will know what it feels like to swing faster.

This is a very simple tip, yet extremely powerful and effective.

(Jon Doyle is a former NCAA All-American baseball player who now works as a strength and conditioning specialist. For more tips check out www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com)

From Section1Guy:

What a great opening game for the Little League World Series in 2007. I saw Massachusetts play all week long in Bristol during the regionals and they simply win ball games. They're one of the smallest teams I've seen at this level. They don't have a dominant pitcher or a dominant bat. They look like interchangeable units throughout the lineup. Westside American from Hamilton, Ohio, is one of the powerhouses of the Central Region in Little League. This is their third trip to Williamsport. A very impressive went feat.

Ohio's Kyle Cotcamp gave up only three runs in 16 2/3 innings during their regional run and he continued to pitch well by keeping Massachusetts scoreless through five innings. His counterpart, Sam Faulkson, was just as impressive keeping the Ohio hitters off balance and giving up one lone run from a passed ball. Massachusetts' bats came alive in the sixth inning, though, with a big double in the gap for John White that plated two runs to take the lead. Massachusetts added another insurance run which would become very important.

In the bottom of the inning, Faulkson lost some of his location. He hit the first batter and walked the second of the inning. A sacrifice bunt left Ohio with runners on 2nd and 3rd. A passed ball plated Ohio's second run, but with two outs and a runner on third, John Cornette came to the plate Cornette had three home runs in the regional and with an 0-2 count drove a fastball to deep center field. Massachusetts' Mike Rando went back to the wall, steadied himself, timed his jump, and...came down with an amazing catch leaning over the wall. He brought back a potential walk-off home run and Massachusetts left Game 1 of the LLWS with a 3-2 victory to move to 1-0 in Pool Play. Ohio falls to 0-1.

The catch was one of the best warning track/wall catches I've seen in Williamsport. The first was definitely the full-speed leap into the wall a few years ago by a player from the Midwest. This catch by Rando may be second due to the magnitude of the play. Massachusetts continued to get great pitching from Faulkson who finds ways to get people out. John Adams picked up the one-out save.

I'll have another blog later on tonight about the other U.S. game. Thoughts on Japan/Curacao and Maracaibo/Taiwan will come with it.