Rob Drew

"The Yarra Spirit is about great people, great mentors and friendships.”

Rob Drew’s connections with Yarra Valley Grammar have extended far beyond his years as a student. Until recently, he maintained close ties to the school as senior coach of the Yarra Old Grammarians footy team.

“I still know a lot of people in the Yarra community. The networks here are deep and strong and people within the community build trust and help each other out whenever they can. I think it’s important that when you finish your years at Yarra, that you don’t just walk away from the School,” Rob says.

Rob joined his two older brothers at Yarra when he was in Grade 4. Camps at Forest Edge and Portsea quickly built friendships and so did playing sport. He played tennis, cricket and footy.

“In Years 8 to 9 I made my cricket debut with the First team and got to play with my brothers, and in Year 10 I made my debut with the First footy team and kicked six on my first day – special moments,” he recalls.

In the classroom, Rob says he faced more of a challenge but extra English classes and the encouragement of teachers got him up to speed and he completed VCE. But, like a lot of teenagers, he had no clear idea what came next.

Through a friend, Rob began working as a landscaper until two knee reconstructions due to footy injuries forced him to reassess his future. Another friend suggested a move into the sales industry and Rob has since had a series of business development and strategy roles. Today he runs a successful freight logistics company.

“After the knee reconstructions I faced a challenging time because I had to pivot. Financially things weren’t going too well and I had to work out what came next,” he says.

At that time, the Yarra motto came into play.

“While I was at school, I didn’t think much about the motto but later it resonated. If you lift up your eyes, then you keep moving forward. You have to lift your eyes to the horizon and keep striving to reach that point,” says Rob.

While success in business provides security, for Rob, having a happy family, watching his three children grow up and get ready to start their own school lives, and enjoying the friendships that were founded at Yarra bring him a lot of happiness.

And if he has one piece of advice for current Yarra students it would be some words he shared with the Yarra Old Grammarians footy players during his last game as coach.

“You have what it takes to be the best you can be, so give it everything you’ve got,” he says.