Results
Name
Caulfield Grammar School
Club
Caulfield Grammar School
Category
Wellbeing / Productivity
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Introducing Caulfield Grammar
Caulfield Grammar School is one of Melbourne's leading co-educational schools, with a long-standing and competitive rowing program. The program runs from Year 8 through to Year 12, giving students a clear pathway from their first strokes on the water to elite senior rowing. Caulfield competes in the APS system, one of Victoria's premier rowing competitions, with regular attendance at the Australian National Championships.
The Challenge
Like most schools, Caulfield Grammar didn't have access to consistent, structured coxswain development before Cox Coach. In 2025, they employed two part-time coxswain coaches to help fill the gap. But this approach still lacked the structure and expertise Caulfield provides its rowers.
"I've always wanted to do more to support our coxes, but there's never been a clear way to do that," says Darcy Wruck, Director of Rowing.
The coxes felt the same gap. "I feel like the most feedback I got was from my coaches, but they've got eight rowers to focus on, plus a cox. So it kind of feels like, not an afterthought, but just not the priority for feedback," says Annabelle Naphtali, Girls 2nd VIII+ Coxswain.
How Cox Coach Helped
After an initial meeting, Caulfield came onto the Cox Coach platform for the 2025/2026 season. Every coxswain and coach was set up with a full-access account.
The Cox Coach team worked closely with Darcy and Ivy Jones, Caulfield's Coxswain Coach, to track student progress and adapt lessons based on feedback.
"Having a time on Thursdays to do the modules was really nice, because we could come together as a group of coxswains," says Emily Eldridge, Girls First VIII+ Coxswain and School Captain. "There's always a lot of focus on the rowers, so it was nice to have something personalised for us as coxes."
"It wasn't just the coach that was holding the standard, it was me as well. That kept the trainings focused and locked in," adds Harrison Jones, 1st Boys VIII+ Coxswain.
The Impact
Productivity
In one season, Caulfield took average coxswain development from 1.5 hours to over 20 hours, while dropping from two casual coaches down to one. "Before Cox Coach, it would have been impossible to give each of the coxes so much time and energy," says Ivy Jones.
Wellbeing
When we spoke to Caulfield's coxes, one word came up again and again: special. "It felt special to have something that was just for the coxes," says Emily. Coxes were "so excited to try out the skills they learnt during the lessons," and would "chat to each other about them after," adds Annabelle. As Darcy puts it, "it's great to know the coxes are getting consistent development from the very best in the rowing community."
Performance
"Each week, the coxes were able to take their learnings straight into the boat," says Ivy. The biggest shift was confidence. "For the first time, we all actually understood how we could make an impact in the boat," says Emily. The rowers noticed too. "The boys who were in the boat last year noticed a big improvement through the season," says Harrison.
