To get a feel for Armand Bokitch’s passion for football, one only needs to look at his 2009 travel itinerary.

The local high school player spent a good portion of his summer south of the border, attending camps in Seattle, California, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Toss in a trip to Saskatoon for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ elite camp in August, and you get an idea of how much football means to the Grade 12 student at Okanagan Mission Secondary.

“It was busy, but I had a great summer,” said Bokitch. “I got to be around some of the best talent, I had some great coaching, met a lot of people, and I learned a lot. I love football, so it was a lot fun.”

That Bokitch loves the game is apparent every time he pulls on a jersey for the Okanagan Mission Huskies. A running back and defensive back, the 17-year-old Bokitch is one of the Huskies leaders, both on and off the field, and was an integral part of OKM’s march to the 2008 Okanagan Interior AA Conference title.

Huskies head coach Jason Farnsworth has watched Bokitch grow as a football player over the past two seasons and can’t help but be impressed by his dedication and commitment to the sport.

“For Armand, football doesn’t have a beginning and an end, it’s an all-year around sport for him,” said Farnsworth. “He works on solely excelling at football. He’s very strong, very fast, and an intelligent player, a real student of the game. Armand is a guy any coach would want on his team.”

And Bokitch will be again be a vital player for the Huskies in 2009 as the team heads into the regular season with one of high school football’s smallest rosters.

Bokitch brings added experience and football savvy to the Huskies this fall, thanks in large part to what he learned at various camps this year in the U.S. In July, for example, Bokitch attended the Peyton Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana along with 800 quarterbacks and 200 other running backs.

In addition to daily instruction, he played seven-on-seven touch football in the evenings with none other than N.Y. Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

“When you’re around football talent like that, you’re going to learn and improve,” he said. “Talking with Eli Manning was a great experience and something I’ll never forget.”

Bokitch also attended the Offense-Defense select camp in Orange, California in early July, then was among 100 players who were invited back for the Offense-Defense elite camp in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Evaluators will choose the top 80 players from that group to play in the All-America East vs. West Senior Bowl game on New Year’s day in Florida.

“I thought I had a pretty good camp, so hopefully they’ll invite me back,” Bokitch said. “It’s a huge game, and to get your name up there with the best senior players in the country would be great.”

But first things first, Bokitch would like nothing more than to help his OKM Huskies win a second straight Okanagan title and earn a second straight trip to the B.C playoffs.

The Huskies kick off the 2009 regular season Friday, Oct. 16 at the Apple Bowl against NorKam from Kamloops.