A FOOTBALL club's coaches have dreamed up a series of lockdown challenges to help look after the mental health and fitness of their players and volunteers.

Cheshire League outfit Crewe FC, along with other non-league clubs from Step Three down, have had their fixtures suspended at senior and junior level since the national lockdown was announced.

The clubs senior and junior teams have not kicked a ball since before Christmas. But club officials are determined to keep in touch and the virtual competition involving 30 teams has helped keep spirits up.

The teams are battling against each other for points by completing a number of set challenges, the first of which tasks every member to walk or run one km for every year of their age each week (all senior teams have to complete 18km).

Completing the 1,500 steps it takes to get up the 'Empire State Building' is also mandatory as the club's coaches make sure those steps up and down staircases and the outdoor sessions are completed by checking Strava and time-lapse cameras.

The Lockdown Challenge League is part of a series of initiatives at Crewe FC. HIT (High Intensity Training) sessions for players and volunteers via Zoom are also proving popular, while a laptop/tablet collection scheme has seen over 30 unwanted tech devices collected and donated to St. Thomas More School in Crewe.

Crewe FC Chairman Steve Parker said: "We run an under-16s team and it is difficult to get them to do anything at times, but the Lockdown League has really got them involved. It's a team challenge and they don't want to be seen failing it.

"This lockdown is different with schools closed and we have looked at the impact it can have, so we want to keep people active.

"We set some challenges to start with, but some of them were just on their PlayStations so we've made it into a league and got all the Crewe FC teams competing against each other.

"They are all in leagues, from a Champions League, a Premier Division down to Leagues One and Two, and there is promotion and relegation between each one dependent on them completing their challenges.

"We're setting a challenge every week and how successful they are depends on the numbers in each team that complete it. So if only half of your team do them then you will stay with teams at that level. We've had a very good response with parents engaging with their kids on the challenges and it has been quite competitive."

The HIT training is being run by Crewe FC ladies player Jennie Corner, who works at Area 51 Fitness in Crewe.

The trainer, who is a former Big Brother contestant, has been getting up to 120 club members joining in her virtual fitness sessions.

Steve says all the activities are helping the club's members say in touch during the shutdown.

"We play football but it is important that people feel connected. For example the under-19s are setting up a Zoom call to pay bingo. There is a team ethic that is lovely to see."

Crewe FC's current campaign is in significant doubt after the leagues at Step Three and Four (Northern Premier League) moved to nulling and voiding their programmes.

If the North West Counties League was to follow suit then the fate of the Cheshire Premier League, in which Crewe FC reside, is inevitable.

The club were late starting their games in October and have only played five games of a 32-game season, currently standing in 11th place.

Their chairman is realistic about the outlook and says the club already planning for next season.

"Even if we got back to playing in March/April and got some games in by playing it as a cup or a Champions League style tournament I can't see how they could make it anything that would be considered competitive.

"It's a shame. Last year we'd have won the league if it hadn't been null and voided. Since then we've had some big changes in personnel and manager."