Basketball star and former player with Burnley FC youth development team on track to achieve his dreams in America
A basketball player, who grew up in Pendle, hopes his story of determination and perseverance to get where you want to be will encourage youngsters to follow their dreams.
Jonasz Piskorski moved to the UK from his native Poland with his parents when he was just six months old. Settling in Yorkshire to start with, the family moved to Earby when Jonasz was 10.
A keen sportsman since he was little Jonasz, who is now 20, got his competitive spirit from his parents ,Patryk and Jola and his sister Rose (18) who also plays basketball with the GB U20 national team. Jonasz said: “We would turn everything into a competition and I believe that’s what has ultimately shaped how I think. I always want to compete and achieve, and push myself to be better than the person next to me. It can be a bad thing as well sometimes.”
A talented footballer from the age of four Jonasz stuck with the sport it until he was 13 and even had a spell with Burnley FC’s youth development team. He said: “I was exposed to that professional setup and I remember we were all sat down in one of the offices at the stadium— and they gave us a full nutrition plan, diet, and all these club standards to follow. So that level of discipline and pressure was there really early for me.”
Eventually the daily training sessions and coping with Osgood Schlatter, a common cause of keen pain in adolescents, combined with his studies at West Craven High, became too much for Jonasz and he took a year out from sport on doctor’s orders. But Jonasz ended up gaining weight and feeling pretty miserable. Until he discovered basketball.
He said: “I decided to give an after school club where they played it a try. I really enjoyed it and, considering I’d never really played before, I wasn’t bad. The coach invited me to a local club session in Skipton, and I started playing more seriously. My dad, who also used to play, saw how much I wanted to do it and started investing a lot of time into helping me develop.”
Soon Jonasz was training twice a week at the City of Leeds Academy, but the pandemic hit and everything stopped. Jonasz trained wherever he could and when things opened back up he was placed in the first team for under 16s, which was premier level and the highest in the country at that age level. “The season was limited because of COVID, but it gave me a taste of what serious competition felt like,” said Jonasz.
After his GCSEs, Jonasz moved out of the family home at 16 to join Allerton High, which is part of Leeds Basketball Academy, full-time.
He spent a year travellling all across the UK, experiencing what it felt like to be in a proper basketball environment for the first time.
The next step was to join the Sheffield Elite based at Sheffield College and, at the age of 17 Jonasz started living fully independently with other basketball players. He said: “We trained and played four or five hours a day, had games twice a week, and also did gym sessions, physio — everything. That was my first real taste of what being an athlete 24/7 feels like.”
After a summer spent playing with the team in Portugal Jonasz began the search for senior levels in the sport. He trained with Derbyshire Arrows in the British NBL (Division 2). Describing the experience he said: “At first, I was just a training player — I was the youngest on the squad, and they had a really strong team — but just before Christmas, I got in touch with Doncaster Eagles, another team in the same division. After a few sessions and conversations, I signed with them.
“Playing there was huge for me — suddenly I was on court with guys way older than me, some with families, and playing in front of pretty big crowds. That really helped me grow up as a player and as a person.”
Next, Jonasz spoke with an agent who helped him to connect with schools in the United States, and, at the same time, he had an offer from the Greek second division. He said: “In the end, I decided to bet on myself and take the college route, which meant going through the whole US visa process — not easy, but worth it. Last year I signed with UIC in Miami. At first, it was a culture shock — it probably took me three months just to settle into the American lifestyle — but the basketball was great, my teammates were amazing, and living in Miami was unreal.”
This year Jonasz is moving to Northeast Community College in Nebraska. He added “It’s going to be a lot colder and more typical American, but it has got incredible facilities — a proper arena that seats a few thousand people, on-site doctors, physios, cryo chambers, everything I need to develop. Plus, I get to do it alongside two of my friends, so the chemistry is already there — Austin is from Leeds so pretty close and Taylor is from New Zealand— so I’m excited to take this next step together.
“There are so many different paths and opportunities out there — whether it’s basketball, another sport, or anything you’re passionate about. "But honestly none of it just lands in your lap. You have to work and put yourself out there, and be willing to work for it. If you’re willing to really commit then you’ve done most of the mental battle already.
“It might mean long journeys, moving away from home young, saying no to things that you might like to do. But it’s all part of the journey of reaching your goals.”