FORT MYERS, Fla. – The power to fuel Eagle student-athletes is in your hands at Florida Gulf Coast University's premier Athletics fundraising event: Night at the Nest Gala. As FGCU Athletics prepares for the December 5th gala, join us on a journey to educate, enlighten and enhance the ways we can use nutrition to spark greatness in competition.
In Part Two of this series, you'll hear from the student-athlete perspective, as we explore the role proper nutrition plays in recovery, academic success and peak performance. The series will culminate in December at Night at the Nest, where your contributions will directly support the implementation of a holistic nutrition program for all FGCU student-athletes.
"I see the potential of what a nutrition program could do for every Eagle if we had resources like a training table and a fueling station" said senior women's soccer student-athlete Camryn Bliss.
As FGCU Athletics continues to emphasize the importance of holistic student-athlete development, nutrition is a cornerstone of performance, recovery and overall well-being. Bliss has experienced firsthand how access to proper fueling can transform both mindset and performance. Below, Bliss shares her first-person perspective on what quality nutrition means to her as a Division I student-athlete—and why continued support for these resources makes a lasting impact.
Look Good, Fuel Good, Play Good by Camryn Bliss
I've been playing soccer for 19 years, but it wasn't until I got to college that I truly understood how much of a difference nutrition makes. Over the last four years, I've realized how important quality nutrition is to help me train, study, recover, and feel good. Once I made that connection, it transformed my mindset about the importance of nutrition.
A typical day of fueling for me includes three meals and one to two snacks. I start the day with a carb-heavy breakfast and fruit, then grab a quick snack before heading out to practice around 8 a.m. Right after practice, I make sure to refuel with lunch to replace the calories I expended during practice and lifting. In the afternoon, I usually grab a salty snack and some fruit between classes to keep me going. Dinner is my biggest meal of the day – a well-balanced meal to recover from the day and prepare me for the next. My go-to's are protein waffles for breakfast, Rice Krispies for snacks, and any kind of rice bowl for dinner. As I've experimented and learned more about fueling my body in recent years, I've come to realize I don't need a heavy breakfast, but I do need a larger, more dense dinner in order to feel my best and perform well.
The biggest lesson I've learned as a student-athlete is that my body is a machine, so I need to fuel it as such. You wouldn't expect a car to run without gas, so why would I expect to play my best if I haven't eaten properly? At my previous university, we were provided with a fully stocked fueling station, which had everything from fresh fruit and high-energy snacks to ready-to-eat meals that were available all day. Easy access to good nutrition made it much easier for me to manage my schedule and workload. It took away the stress of figuring out what to eat for lunch or a pre-practice snack, allowing me to spend more time focused on studying or recovery. But more than that, it showed me that my coaches, trainers, and administration genuinely cared about our well-being—and that made us want to care, too.
During my freshman year, our athletic nutritionist said something that's stuck with me ever since: "Look good, fuel good, play good." It's easy to feel confident in our uniforms on game day, but that confidence only goes so far if we haven't fueled the right way. With that phrase always in mind, at the end of the day, I can't do what I love without proper nutrition.
That's why supporting FGCU Athletics matters so much. Events like Night at the Nest help ensure that student-athletes just like me have access to the resources we need to fuel, recover, and perform at our best. Your support isn't just feeding athletes – it's fueling championships."
Night at the Nest Gala
Reserve your table for the event now! Additional event partnership opportunities are available, and a limited number of individual tickets will be offered. For more information, event updates and to reserve a spot, visit
our website.
Attendees at this year's Night at the Nest Gala will have an extraordinary opportunity to make their impact go even further. Through the FGCU Foundation's matching initiative for Athletics, every "Fund A Need" gift ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 will be matched dollar for dollar, effectively doubling each contribution in support of FGCU Athletics.
Thank You to our Sponsors!
Green & Blue Sponsors
Diamond District | Shady Rest Foundation
Wings Up Sponsors
NCH | Suncoast Beverage Sales
Nest Sponsors
Collier Sports Medicine | Crown Residential Services | Driftwood Garden Center | Stock Development
Endurance Sponsors
Cooper Hotels | Fifth Third Bank | FloridaTours.com | United Mechanical
Legacy Sponsors
Gator Golf Cars | Hampton Inn & Suites | Stan's Coffee
Media Sponsors
Gulfshore Business | The Naples Press
About FGCU Athletics
The mission of Florida Gulf Coast University Athletics is to empower student-athletes to become transformative leaders and champions - in the classroom, in competition and in the community. The Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation supports this mission by securing and managing philanthropic resources for scholarships, athletic excellence and university-wide initiatives that benefit both student-athletes and the broader community.
