Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Local youth sports received a boost this week, with McKinleyville Little League getting the go-ahead from county health officials to resume practice.

Coaches will be reaching out to players this week, with restricted practice sessions likely to begin in a couple of weeks.

The state recently issued its guidelines for youth sports to resume after the COVID-19 shutdown.

“We are following state guidelines,” McKinleyville Little League president Rachelle Hicks said.

For now, that means no games or scrimmages, with practice sessions limited to conditioning and skill drills.

Despite that, however, the announcement will be seen as a big boost for local youth sports, which have essentially been shut down since March.

“We just wanted to our kids started playing something,” Hicks said.

The practices will be for seven- to 12-year-olds.

The association is still hoping to get the all-clear to play games soon.