Mylec Sharp Shooter – How can a goalie that skinny be so good?
Written: May 09 '05 (Updated May 09 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good fit on the net
Cons: Bungees sometimes wear out prematurely
The Bottom Line: The Sharp Shooter doesn't drink all the team's beer after the game, but it never brings any beers to the game either.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Mylec Sharp Shooter Targets |
What is it?
The Sharp Shooter is a two dimensional goalie. I don’t mean that as an insult (like, Your game is so two-dimensional, you need to improve, dude!) I mean this literally. Mylec’s Sharp Shooter is a vinyl goalie that you can roll up and store in the corner when you aren’t using him. Try that with a real goalie and you will likely find out what his Sher-wood tastes like.
Essentially the Sharp Shooter attaches to the face of the goal with bungee chords. Three chords hold on the top, two connect to either side of the goal. The bottom has a weighted metal bar. This nefarious device has holes in the corners forcing players to shoot for the parts of the net where they would be most likely to score on a real goalie. There is also a hole in the low middle of the Shooter Tutor to simulate the five-hole.
A rather cheesy image of a goalie graces the front of the Sharp Shooter. Strangely there are scoring holes right where the goalie’s feet are.
The Sharp Shooter comes in a couple of different sizes. One to fit a regulation 72 inch net, the other will fit a smaller 5 foot wide junior sized net.
Shooter Tutor
The Sharp Shooter is seldom called by its given name. Generally frustrated players sitting on the bench talk about it. Usually the remarks will be something like this, “That (explicative or two deleted) shooter tutor is really (many more expletives deleted) making me mad.”
When do you use a Sharp Shooter?
These are very handy devices for when a real goalie isn’t available. Players don’t find hitting a six-foot wide net too challenging when there isn’t a goalie. The alternative is hitting the posts which is challenging, but not a lot of fun either. Certainly a shooter tutor isn’t as fun as a real net-minder, but it is better than nothing.
While a real goalie does many things better than a shooter tutor, there are a few goaltending areas where the Sharp Shooter is very solid. Here is a list of the ways a Sharp Shooter is better:
1. The Sharp Shooter is never out of position. A real goalie does silly things like falling down, or failing to see the puck. I’ve never seen this happen to Mr. Sharp Shooter. He is slow, but he has great balance and save awareness.
2. The Sharp Shooter never shows up drunk. One team that I goal-tended for asked me if I liked to drink Bourbon before the game. I thought it was a weird question until they informed me a previous goalie had once shown up so drunk he fell asleep in the locker room.
3. The Sharp Shooter plays a very clean game. While some goalies are known for taking stupid penalties, the Sharp Shooter has played thousands of games without a single minute of penalty time.
4. Injuries to a Sharp Shooter are exceedingly rare. While the sharp shooter will wear out eventually, it isn’t generally a sudden failure. So while all goalies age, the Sharp Shooter has never been knocked unconscious by a puck or blown out his knee.
5. The Sharp Shooter never complains about how badly the defense played after the game is over. I don’t think he even keeps track of how many he let in. His head is always in the game and his level of play never deteriorates regardless of the score. This is a lesson that all goalies can learn from.
6. For endurance the Sharp Shooter is unbeatable. I know that I sometimes get tired in a game and make mental errors as the result. Sharp Shooters are as fit as any player on the ice at any level. What makes this even more amazing is I’ve never seen him working out. To the best of my knowledge he just loafs when not playing. It’s amazing.
Of course the Sharp Shooter isn’t a complete goalie. The game that a Sharp Shooter brings is generally less multi dimensional than that of a real goalie. Here are some examples.
1. Real goalies are better at passing the puck. I’ve only seen a few real goalies who have less skill with the stick than the Sharp Shooter does.
2. Rebounds are not a strong point for the Sharp Shooter. While the Sharp Shooter is excellent at making saves and staying in position, players who expect it to cover the puck will be sorely disappointed. A few real goalies are worse, but in general most will play much better in this aspect. Some players might say that the Sharp Shooter is lazy in this aspect, but I know better. He just cannot get back up without help so falling on a rebound is a bad idea for him.
3. Real goalies are much better at directing traffic. Yelling information such as the puck location, who is open for a pass, or warnings of impending body checks are unheard of for the Sharp Shooter. For all of his quality play, he is very quiet.
4. Covering the corners of the net is one of the Sharp Shooter’s weaknesses. While this is a difficult area for any goalie, the Sharp Shooter is even weaker in their corners than a typical goalie.
5. The Sharp Shooter’s play is rarely inspirational. While he’s a solid goalie, I’ve never seen him bring the bench to their feet with an amazing save.
6. The Shooter Tutor’s up ice awareness is pathetic. I’ve never once seen him skate off the ice for the extra attacker on a penalty. He also seems oblivious to icing calls, breakout opportunities and signaling the end of a power play.
A game to play with the Sharp Shooter
Often the Sharp Shooter is used when only one goalie is at the game. While both teams would like to be shooting on the real goalie it isn’t realistic. This would make for a very confusing game. “Who’s on defense again?”
Instead teams will vie for the right to shoot in the goalie in a game called Ten Minutes / Top Shelf. The name of the game pretty accurately describes the rules. Essentially the team shooting on the Sharp Shooter must attempt to score a top shelf goal by putting the puck into one of the top corners of the target. If they succeed they get to shoot on the goalie. If no top shelf goals are scored the teams will switch ends every ten minutes.
Final Thoughts
There are a few brands of Shooter Tutors on the market. Easton and Franklin make some popular alternatives to the Sharp Shooter. The Easton is the least colorful and most durable of these products. The Franklin is similar in appearance and quality to the Mylec version.
The Sharp Shooter has slightly bigger holes in the corners than either of the competing brands. However it does fit quite a bit better than the Franklin version. While the Franklin has to be aligned just so or it leaves a large gap on the sides, top or bottom. The Mylec gives a little more room for error.
The vinyl surface of the Sharp Shooter will last quite a while. For Street Hockey with balls it is virtually indestructible as long as it is stored out of the elements. It is strong enough to last for numerous hours of ice hockey as well.
The one part that does wear out is the bungee straps that hold it on the net. These will typically wear out before the rest of the two dimensional goalie does. The good news is that these are pretty simple to replace.
These will fit all makes and styles of goals as long as they are the appropriate size for the Sharp Shooter. They can be installed in just a couple of minutes and are easy to remove in the event that a real goalie arrives. Simple bungee chord hooks make installation and removal a snap.
The Sharp Shooter is not intended as a target for firearms. I suppose that it could be used as one, but shooting at goalies is both offensive and worthless. When dressed in our gear we are bulletproof. Making us mad is a bad idea.
Some of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Practice Cone? That used to be my nickname!
Squirrels aren’t afraid of Pucks
Top Shelf Stick Wax
Recommended:
Yes
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