Methods:
120 Hungarian athletes under the age of 12 took part in this research. We have developed our own test system to measure motor development level, including 6 track tests, 3 fundamental movement tests, 5 functional movement tests, 4 movement maturity tests.

Results:
Assessed athletes have a significant degree of motor development deficiencies affecting their performance measured with field tests. Functional movement patterns show a significant correlation with field tests (r=0.324). Athletes who had better indicators in movement maturity tests, performed significantly better in field tests (p=0.020).

Conclusions:
Results support our theory that a special movement development program is necessary to incorporate into already existing young athlete trainings. Coaches need to possess knowledge of age-specific training, to be able recognizing movement literacy deficits. If those deficiencies are not recognised in time, we risk to significantly impair the effectiveness of movement learning and motor control, thus also risking the development of sport talents. Ágnes Virág Nagy is a recipient of the PhD Student Scholarship of the Cooperative Doctoral Program supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.