From grinding it out on the tennis court, to laying down tracks for his latest tune. Two passions begun battling each other for time. Junior Gilby Camacho is ranked number one on the James Bowie High School varsity tennis team. From playing tennis at a young age, Camacho also discovered new interests other than tennis and he uses his free time to explore those interests.

“I started playing tennis when I was six years old and still play,” Camacho said. “In my free time I love to create and and listen to music. Music production and bedroom DJing take up a lot of my time.”

From a young age Camacho dedicated most of his time to tennis, but throughout his life the passion shifted towards spending time on music.

“I used to play about four hours everyday but now I’ll play 4 hours a week,” Camacho said. “I don’t exactly remember the moment when I decided to make my own music. But a while back I just thought it would be really cool to create electronic dance music, the music I’ve fallen in love with.”

Though Camacho spent more time away from the court, he still finds a way to keep up at his game in the sport.

“He’s so darn good at tennis anyway, I’m glad that he can pursue another passion of his at the same time,” coach James Dammann said. “I like to think that he produces both on and off the court.”

In some ways, music could help Camacho, maybe even improve his game.

“If it helps, then it’s probably for the better,” Dammann said. “Maybe it allows him to relax a little mentally on the court if he gets a good song playing in his head.”

Camacho’s friends and teammates will support him down whatever path he is willing to take.

“I think Gilby doing both at the same time is awesome,” sophomore Keito Chiba said. “He’s really good at playing tennis and is also talented at making music. People should pursue their happiness and Gilby’s is both of them.”

Camacho enjoys both activities, but he enjoys them in different ways. He feels exhilarated expressing each of his passions.

“I feel happy and excited when I create music and I love that there are no rules and I can make whatever I want,” Camacho said. “Tennis as well makes me happy, I love the sport and it’s one of my passions.”

Camacho shared his music with some of his friends from the tennis team for feedback and ideas for his upcoming songs.  

“I’ve listen to a lot of songs from him. He loves EDM music and I’m into electronic music myself so I like it,” Chiba said. “I feel like there are many different beats depending on the song and some of them really make you feel like you’re in the moment I guess.”

Camacho has gotten a lot of experience after playing all of his life.

“I believe Gilby will play tennis for the rest of his life, tennis will help him go through whatever he decides to accomplish in life,” Gilby’s father Gilbert Camacho said. “Another fact is, he needs to realize if he wants to continue playing tennis after high school, which I hope he does he has a lot of experience and talent that he can use to his advantage.”

Over time, Camacho’s music interests have grown larger than his desire to play tennis despite his superior abilities at tennis.

“I think he likes music more than tennis now but he’s a very talented player and I’ve known him for a long time so his talent covers up for his lack of practice,” Chiba said.

While continuing to produce music, Dammann hopes he’ll continue in a sport he has dedicated his life to.

“My hope would be that he continues to enjoy the sport either competitively or recreationally for years to come,” Dammann said. “He’s a heck of a good player and has invested so much time and effort into the sport.”

Despite his newly found passion for music and producing, he claims to still stick to his roots doing what he loves, still continuing his dreams.

“In the future I would love to keep on producing music to make people happy and I’m so into creating music that I’ll always be making music no matter what,” Camacho said. “But I’ll always continue playing tennis because I love it.”