Clintondale senior wins Courage Award

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Clintondale high school senior Davon Ciesiolka has been named the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award male recipient for 2025.

The award was established in 2020 and has the goal of honoring high school basketball players that overcome adversity and make an impact on their community. This year, hundreds of student-athletes were nominated from around the country and Ciesiolka’s strength set him apart from the field.

“I honestly got an email about the award, and they said that anybody could nominate a student,” Clintondale high school counselor Courtney Carroll said. “There were all of these qualifications of what they were looking for… Davon was the first and only kid that I really considered.”

Carroll is Ciesiolka’s counselor at Clintondale and was asked to write an essay about him and his story. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administered the award and wanted to drive home the point that the selection wasn’t based on player performance or GPA, but purely on the courage, perseverance and leadership displayed by the student-athlete.

“It was a lot to handle but it was fun to experience,” Ciesiolka said. “I’m glad I’m getting noticed about things I had hard times with… It was just a good moment in my life.”

Ciesiolka’s mother passed away in 2022 shortly after giving birth to his youngest sibling, which occurred just a few years after his family was displaced due to a house fire. Since his mother’s passing, Ciesiolka has been a caretaker of not only his younger siblings but also his two older brothers with special needs. He’s done that while also posting a 3.40 GPA, playing basketball, working part time to support his family and participating in robotics.

“I put a lot of work in,” Ciesiolka said. “It’s the attitude… I had to show leadership for my older brothers and my little brothers.”

Naismith is one of the biggest names in basketball, and basketball was a large part of Ciesiolka’s story. The support that his teammates provided him was vital in his time of need.

“(The team) means a lot,” Ciesiolka explained. “Having them in the process… It shows how much they really care for you and how much brotherhood we have.”

The impact that Ciesiolka has off of the court translates seamlessly to on the court as well. He’s someone that the roster relies on and looks up to on a daily basis.

“He’s our leader,” Clintondale basketball head coach Marquis Chavez said. “I think it really highlights to our young kids that are going through things at home that they have the same opportunities that he has as long as they put in the work.”

Putting this story on a national stage is also something that’s not lost on the community. News outlets, national media and big-name reporters are all looking at Clinton Township, and that’s impactful.

“It just sheds a light on our small community,” Chavez explained. “Most people don’t know where Clinton Township or Clintondale is located. So not only was it great for him, it’s great for our community.”

Jersey Mike’s donated $2,000 to the Clintondale basketball program and another $2,000 to Ciesiolka himself, while Naismith put together an event at the school to celebrate his achievement.

Ciesiolka is going to use this award and platform to help continue providing for himself and his family. He’s already started looking ahead at what type of opportunities will come his way due to all that he’s overcome.

“I think it’ll help me a lot with getting into colleges,” Ciesiolka explained. “Finish high school first, then go off to college and play football or college basketball.”

This award puts an exclamation mark on an impressive senior year for Ciesiolka on and off the court. Students, staff and parents around the community have come together to uplift him in these hard times.

“Davon is just such a great individual,” Carroll said. “You don’t have to be a victim of your circumstances. He did all of that not expecting anything in return, so to be able to give him some type of award for it was awesome.”

Understandably, Ciesiolka’s story has reached the national stage as he continues to inspire more people that learn about him. His impact on the community is permanent.

“A lot of kids could’ve given up or would’ve given up or gotten in trouble,” Carrol said. “He came out on top.”

The female recipient of the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award for 2025 was Lily Dunlap of St. John’s School in Houston, Texas.