Growing up on a Western Pennsylvania farm, former Penn State University linebacker and strong safety Ron Hostetler played rough games of two-on-two football with his brothers in the backyard. He and his brother Doug, the two eldest, usually wound up on the winning side. Former Super Bowl-winning Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler, six years Ron's junior, and his brother Todd, the two youngest, regularly wound up back in the house covered in bruises.
"We would enjoy hammering them and making them cry and sending them to mom," Ron said. "But they would always come back out. They loved football more than they hated getting hurt."
A generation later, Ron quarterbacked lively games for the neighborhood kids in Hershey, Pa., while his daughter, Bekah Hostetler, snapped the ball to him.
"Everyone would come in their sport gear, pumped up to play," said Bekah, a former All-American defender for the Penn State field hockey team. "I obviously wanted to be involved, but because I was much younger, smaller and female, I was only allowed to be the all-time [snapper]."
The Hostetlers' love for football began here and continued throughout Ron's successful career with the Nittany Lions' football team, Jeff's career with West Virginia University and three NFL teams, and Bekah's accolade-filled career on Penn State's field hockey team. The family undoubtedly has talent, but it took more than just talent to get the Hostetlers to the top.
"The Lord gave us some talent," Ron said. "But we needed an opportunity to express that talent."
Ron's opportunity came at Penn State, where he was highly recruited as a quarterback coming out of high school. However, his freshman year was a rough experience, he said. Head coach Joe Paterno put him on defense, where he played safety and linebacker, and Ron did not start at all his freshman year. Paterno told him to keep working hard in practice.
"[Paterno] was very demanding and very tough. It was a challenge," Ron said. "In the end, it worked out well for me."
Paterno's advice paid off. Ron started for three years - missing his senior season with injury - and was part of teams that won three bowl games: the 1974 Orange Bowl, the 1975 Cotton Bowl and the 1977 Fiesta Bowl.
After transferring from Penn State, Jeff spent two years as the starting quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers in 1982 and 1983, setting many then-records for passing. But even after the New York Giants drafted Jeff in 1984, both Jeff's father and then-Mountaineers head coach Don Nehlen (now Jeff's father-in-law) continuously stressed the importance of patience, hard work and preparation. Although Jeff remained a backup quarterback for the better part of six seasons with the Giants, his father and Nehlen told him to be ready to play at any time.
"Turns out, that's exactly what happened," Jeff said. "When Phil Simms got hurt (shortly before the 1990 playoffs), I went in and did well because I had prepared well in practice. The preparation gave me the confidence not only I needed, but my teammates needed from me as well."
The Giants went on to win Super Bowl XXV, with Jeff throwing a touchdown pass in the game. Afterward, Jeff spent the crowning moment of his 15-year NFL career with the same people who introduced him to football: his family.
"In my hotel room after the game, my entire extended family and I celebrated the win by just hanging out and watching postgame stuff on television," Jeff said. "It was like Christmas time again back home on the farm."
Bekah, then 10 years old, joined the rest of the Hostetlers on their Super Bowl family trip.
"It was quite an experience - one I probably took for granted at the age of 10, but definitely appreciate," she said.
Looking to carve out a name for herself at Penn State, Bekah started more than 60 games in her Penn State field hockey career from 2002-2005 and was a captain of the team during her senior season. However, to achieve this success, she had to overcome trials of her own. She played through various injuries, including a herniated disc in her back and a stress fracture in her foot. When she looks back on those days now, she sees an unforgettable learning experience.
"Learning how to push yourself past your own expectations is a lesson that can be used in any life situation," Bekah said. "The intense workouts, time-consuming rehab and tough regime I had to deal with tested me and has made me very confident in what I can achieve in life."
It is a family that continues to thrive. Bekah's sisters Janna and Kensi both played sports, and her brother Jared played football. Jeff's three sons all play football in West Virginia: two are on the University High School team in Morgantown, W. Va., while Justin Hostetler plays for the Mountaineers. Several other youngsters in the family play college football, and Jonathan Stupar, Jeff and Ron's nephew, is currently a tight end on the Buffalo Bills.
"My family was extremely supportive and encouraging," Bekah said. "It was neat to update them during family gatherings and hear about my other cousins."
But even with so many Hostetlers in the sporting world, the entire family found time to get together to support Bekah, her siblings and her cousins. Bekah remembers her aunts, uncles and cousins attending her first field hockey game. Her grandfather, more aunts and more uncles attended her playoff games in Maryland.
Her parents, however, were her top fans.
"They were amazing at making almost all of my games, including the away ones," Bekah said. "Dad would take time off of work, and they would drive many hours just to see me play for an hour."
Bekah now teaches language arts and social studies at Central Dauphin Middle School near Harrisburg, Pa., while coaching the girls' field hockey team. This past fall, she also helped coach the girls' field hockey team at Hershey High School (her alma mater) to the state championship, where they came in second.
Both Ron and Jeff have retired from playing football, but remain active in their communities. In addition to coaching football at the high school level, Jeff owns his own construction company. He also started the Hoss Foundation, an organization helping underprivileged youth in West Virginia. Ron both teaches and coaches at the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., a school serving more than 1,700 students from low income families in West Virginia. Ron has been teaching there for the past 25 years.
"It's been tremendous," Ron said. "Each day, these guys make me thankful for what we've been given in our family."
