History Main / AccidentalAthlete

** While the more common "running away skills" come into play, it's not until after he actually starts training.
** This was sorta the case with Sendoh, too. He was well-known as a [[JapaneseDelinquent delinquent]] who stood up [[BullyHunter against bullies]], and once his future coach heard about him he decided to fist fight Sendoh to try recruiting him for his gym. It worked.

** In ''Film/HappyGilmore'', Happy's ice hockey skills unexpectedly transfer to playing golf, and
** In ''Film/TheWaterboy'', the title character is discovered to have unique tackling abilities when his BerserkButton is pushed.

** In the episode where Bart and Lisa compete in hockey, her talent as goalkeeper is discovered when Apu sees her block all the paper balls that Bart throws at her while taunting her.
** In another episode, Bart is assigned a ballet class and then discovers he is a natural dancer while trying to remove his leotard.
** Lisa discovers a natural talent for gymnastics because of her big head.
** In the most implausible example yet, Homer is discovered to have the toughness necessary to succeed as a professional boxer when he blithely takes a beating from three other fathers who are angry that Bart ratted on their boys.
** Homer also makes for a great opera singer while he's horizontal. Also a great painter. Both on the same episode.
** Lisa discovers in one episode she has a natural talent for ballet when she gets angry at the instructor, who notices her never-before-mentioned "lecturing stance".

* This is how Kasuka Heiwajima got his start as a TeenIdol in ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' -- Originally, the talent scout was interested in recruiting his ([[HairTriggerTemper ludicrously volatile]] and [[SuperStrength super strong]]) brother, Shizuo. Kasuka saved the poor guy from the resulting beatdown and was scouted in Shizuo's place.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Po, who was previously thought to be hopelessly clumsy, inadvertently demonstrates his agility when he climbs up some shelves in order to steal some cookies.

* In ''Film/{{Goon}}'', working as a bouncer, and being naturally tough, have made Doug the perfect hockey enforcer.

* ''Literature/{{Slapshots}}': Chipmunk (who turns out to be listed as a reserve player) plays in the final pre-playoffs game solely to try to pull off an opposing player's jacket and expose a graduation t-shirt underneath revealing that the player is too old for their league. Chipmunk keeps failing, while also inadvertently bouncing pucks off his body parts and into the goal, setting a new record for most goals scored by a player in a single game.

* Literature/JessicaDarling gets recruited to the track team after it turns out that she can [[ItMakesSenseInContext run surprisingly fast in a fifty-pound seagull costume when there's a lovesick goose chasing her.]] For that matter, her [[{{Mascot}} being in that costume]] was a variation on this trope too - she was ''trying'' to become a cheerleader, but [[EpicFail only succeeded]] in impressing the coach with her ability to [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender look absolutely hilarious when falling on her face.]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' Harry is picked as seeker for the Quidditch team after making a fifty-foot dive and a one-handed catch of Neville's Remembrall during his first time on a broomstick.

* In the WesternAnimation/{{Classic Disney Short|s}} ''Casey Bats Again'' (a sequel to ''Literature/CaseyAtTheBat''), Casey discovers his daughters form a natural girls' baseball team as they practice their skills while doing the dishes.

* A similar incident to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'''s example below occurs in the Creator/GordonKorman novel ''The Chicken Doesn't Skate''. The school's resident loser, constantly picked on by the {{Jerk Jock}}s of the hockey team, turns out to be a brilliant goalie because he has so much practice catching all the toys his toddler brother throws at his beloved computer.

* Literature/JessicaDarling gets recruited to the track team after it turns out that she can [[ItMakesSenseInContext run surprisingly fast in a fifty-pound seagull costume when there's a lovesick goose chasing her.]] For that matter, her [[{{Mascot}} being in that costume]] was a variation on this trope too - she was ''trying'' to become a [[TheCheerleader cheerleader]], but [[EpicFail only succeeded]] in impressing the coach with her ability to [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender look absolutely hilarious when falling on her face.]]

* Happens a lot in the ''Manga/InazumaEleven'' series. For example, surfer Tsunami shows that he has potential in soccer when the team accidentally kick a ball at him while he's surfing. He manages to defend himself, with powerful kick.

* In the 2007 ''Film/StTrinians'' movie, Annabelle Fritton is recruited for the hockey team after she smashes a bust with a mobile phone she belted with a hockey stick.

* In the autobiography ''My Life Outside The Ring'', Hulk Hogan discovered his affinity for wrestling when his coach pitted him against the #1 wrestler of the school who had just won a competition and the Hulkster won easily without even knowing what he was doing. The coach then faced Hogan himself and Hogan won again at which point he ran away. This is a subversion actually as Hogan did not immediately go into wrestling, and in fact at the time did not want to partake in it.

* As a child, Boxing icon Muhammad Ali was offered his first boxing lesson by the police officer to whom he'd reported his stolen bicycle. He only took up lessons so that one day he'd be able to beat up the kid that stole his bike...the rest is sporting history.

* Hanamichi Sakuragi of ''Manga/SlamDunk'', although he wasn't doing something else except blow off his top at hearing the word "Basketball". Haruko only notices his height and his build which is perfect for the sport. Skills-wise, though, he cannot play to save his life.
** But he is a fast learner. Coach Anzai saw it too, and had Sakuragi master the basics. In no time, he became Shohoku High's starting power forward, slowly working his skills to become the team's rebounder and center under the basket when Akagi isn't around.

* In ''Comicbook/MarvelAdventures Spider-Man'' #34, Peter Parker is recruited as a shortshop for his high school baseball team after he's seen using his super-powers to deftly catch and return a wayward ball. Team pitcher Flash Thomson is enraged because [[DrugsAreBad he suspects Parker's skills are due to illegal drugs]], while the Green Goblin wants to eliminate Parker so his son's rival team can win instead.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': While Tim had been careful to stick with his friends in PE at his previous school and not display his athletic ability after being forced to transfer to Brentwood he races a fellow student he's curious about in class and has the school's soccer coach hound him to join the team after seeing how fast he was able to run and how long he could keep it up. Tim turns him down in defiance of the usual plot.
* In "The Greatest Pitcher in the World!" in ''Superman'' #77, an amnesiac Franchise/{{Superman}}, who is living as a hobo, is recruited as a baseball pitcher after he returns a fly ball and almost breaks the catcher's hand.

* Josh from ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' is forced to join the high school football team after his brownies, poisoned by his [[ThePrankster prankster]] sister, gets one of the players sick.

** '''Literature/NoMoreDeadDogs'': BitCharacter Leo sets a record on the climbing rope while trying to avoid having a conversation with his English teacher.

* In one of the episodes of ''Series/{{MIHigh}}'' one of Daisy's friends gets frustrated over being completely unable to do the high-jump. In a fit of fury she grabs a shot-put and flings it across the field and into a window, also breaking the British world record at the same time.