It is well established that youth athletes are highly likely to encounter a range of experiences on the talent pathway that will accelerate and potentially derail their development. The aim of this thesis was to explore the influence of developmental experiences from both ex and current talent pathway youth athletes to understand the influence of such experience both in and beyond the talent pathway. Chapter 4 explored the talent pathway experiences of ex-talent pathway athletes through semi-structured interviews. The findings of Chapter 4 highlight the potential for talent pathways to facilitate positive and transferable developmental outcomes beyond the transition to professional sport. Chapter 5 explored the coaching philosophies of ex-talent pathway athletes, now coaching on a talent pathway. The findings highlighted the potential influence of the participant’s own athlete experience on the talent pathway to support the development of the participant’s coaching philosophy relative to optimising the learning and development of their youth athletes. Chapter 6 explored the most difficult challenges of eight young athletes on the talent pathway through a tracking approach. The findings emphasised the important role of coaches on the talent pathway to skilfully plan, prepare, and individualise challenging experiences to enhance the young athlete’s capability to navigate the challenge. Chapter 7 explored how eight young athletes and their five talent pathway coaches experienced ‘most difficult’ challenges, as identified by the young athlete. Participants identified a range of psychobehavioural skills, the impact of the challenge environment and social support to aid in the young athlete’s navigation of the experience. Chapter 8 provides specific implications for the research literature and coaching practice with a particular focus on the development, deployment, and transfer of skills and experiences on the talent pathway and the impact of the bespoke nature of challenging experiences on the development of talent pathway youth athletes.