How a husband, wife, daughters and auntie are helping Pendle thrive

Rod Gilmour of The Hockey Paper speaks to the Lancashire women’s team ‘punching above our weight’ at the top of Vitality Women’s Conference North.

“Even in the North West we are an unfashionable club,” says Ian Bythell, the Pendle Forest women’s coach. Yet Pendle have fashioned records of their own in recent years, the small club also becoming a pillar in the community. “We are on the wrong side of the M65 in a fairly poor area of the country. We’re punching above our weight, there’s no doubt about it,” adds Bythell.

Last year, the school pitch where Pendle played put down a 4G and the club was forced to move to another nearby school, Pendle Vale. They had about a month to find a venue. At the weekend, Pendle went top of Vitality Women’s Conference North after a 3-0 victory over rivals Fylde. 

“We are still very nomadic,” adds Bythell. “Every weekend we play clubs with a structure in place. Our core values are breeding our talent and hopefully keeping it.”

That includes Charlotte Hartley, a former England and Great Britain player. “I coached her when she was 15 before she went around the world to play for England. Back then she was frightened to death to tell me she was leaving and was gobsmacked when I said to her to go and enjoy it, but that when she was on the way back down and coming back locally, she would put it back into the club - and she has.”

Ian’s two daughters, Olivia and Freya, as well as his niece - who have all been part of the Great Britain development programme  - see Hartley as a mentor after rising through the ranks. “When Charlotte came back it galvanised this group of players.”

Olivia, 25, is also Pendle’s captain and centre midfield. “Since I was little all I have ever known is being stood on the sideline of a hockey pitch with my grandma and grandad, watching my mum and auntie play with my dad as manager. That was always the dream. And to now captain the side, play alongside them and also have my sister, cousin and best mates playing next to me ... it doesn’t get any better!”

Pendle’s coaching is led by Ian’s wife, Deb, who is still playing aged 55 and who has been in the 1s for over 40 years, while his daughters lead the juniors. He also believes that his wife could be the oldest to play Conference hockey or above.

Talk about experience. Against Fylde in the top-of-the-table clash, Pendle’s defenders were aged 55, 52 and 49, while the team overall is made up of farmers, cake makers, teachers, sports masseuses, housewives and students.

Bythell, a chartered surveyor, describes himself as ‘coach, manager, sponsorship and PR’. He got his Level 1 coaching badge over 20 years ago and hasn’t looked back. “Because we’re nomadic, everything falls on certain people to keep the club afloat,” he adds. “I go out on a Saturday afternoon to play sport with my wife and two daughters. How many sports can you say that? Although if we get beat it can be a very quiet Saturday evening!

“Whenever you look at the talent other clubs might have, we would lose more individual battles than we win. But as a group and team sport that’s why we’ve had the success we’ve had over the years.”

In 2018, Pendle Forest went on an 87-game unbeaten run in the North Hockey Women’s League Premier Division - 99 out of 100 matches in all. Their success saw them recognised in the local community when actors from Lancashire’s The Garrick Theatre Club were trained by the team for a production of Daisy Pulls It Off, a comedy starring a girls’ hockey team.

But it hasn’t all been an upward trajectory. Last year, Pendle survived in the Conference North on the last day of the season by beating Didsbury to stay up. In the first game of the current season, Pendle lost to Timperley 4-2. At the next training session, Bythell asked the squad of their aspirations. “Do you want to survive, finish mid table or throw the towel in and go down a division?” he asked. “Everybody pretty much said we want to finish mid table or above.”

They are now seven games unbeaten after that opening day blip. And, on Saturday, Bythell had to reassess. “I told the team, 'You’ve now got the points in the whole of last season'. One or two were going ‘Bloody hell, Division 1?’ Well, we haven’t got the infrastructure if we were to go up, but you’ve got to dream, haven’t you? When the fixtures come out I still have to pinch myself that England Hockey are mentioning us.” 

Bythell’s youngest daughter, Freya, 21, plays alongside her sister in centre midfield and says the hockey environment is "really special". She says: "I’ve grown up playing at Pendle Forest and I love it. We all love spending time with each other, even on cold, wet Tuesday night training sessions. It makes it extra special being able to play alongside mum, sister, auntie and cousin with my dad as the coach! I don’t think many people will be able to say that!”

So what’s the secret Pendle ingredient? “Well, team spirit is a massive factor in our performances,” adds Freya, ahead of the last game before the Christmas break. “We never give up and keep going right to the final whistle!”

Saturday: Pendle Forest v Wakefield, 11:30am