“Capo: Rise to Power,” the hit mob series by Jimmy Barbarise, may be in the midst of filming its second season, but the show’s lead actor has his sights set on a different kind of drama. Barbarise is stepping into a new role as the head coach for the inaugural season of Long Island University Sharks women’s flag football team.
“When I have calls with the team’s parents, their questions often aren’t about flag football,” Barbarise chuckled in an interview with The Post.
“They always start with, ‘I watched the show and loved it. When is Season 2 coming out?’ and I have to remind them, ‘Let’s focus on discussing your daughter, shall we?'” he added, noting that he often gifts signed posters to the families of the players.
Originally from Centereach, Barbarise has a notable coaching record, having led the University of Tampa to a third-place national ranking. He’s also a member of the Long Island flag football Hall of Fame. This year marks a significant step as he joins the Long Island University Sharks team.
Thanks to a generous $1 million contribution from the New York Jets and their Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, LIU’s Eastern College Athletic Conference is launching the largest collegiate flag football league in the country, featuring 15 teams.
The New York Jets and their Betty Wold Johnson Foundation kicked in a healthy $1M to LIU’s Eastern College Athletic Conference to launch America’s largest collegiate flag football league of 15 teams.
Sweetening the deal, championships for the coveted “Betty” trophy will be played at MetLife Stadium starting in 2027 when the World Cup concludes.
“It’s so surreal,” said wideout E’lise Lyrse during the league’s massive media day at The Meadowlands.
“I’ve never seen people come together for a sport like this,” added the sophomore who moved from LIU’s rowing team to try her luck on the gridiron.
Getting their button
Lyrse isn’t the only flag football newcomer repping the Sharks this season, as Barbarise’s team has only four women with prior experience.
“We’re really starting from scratch,” the head coach admitted, saying he opened the books to anyone.
“I sat in the common area and asked people if they wanted to play football… we had players asking roommates.”
But sharks are born swimming.
The mob man picked two experienced first years as his football family’s captains to get newbies ready: High school teammates at Valley Stream, running back Ryann Blount and cornerback Sophia Songveeratham.
Blount said they “would run our own little clinics” that taught the basics of the 7-on-7 game, like route running, plus lots of conditioning.
“Months before coach was even on campus, we were training just on the grass, just running around in the dark — just doing everything we could to get any progress,” added Lyrse, who described the group as inseparable.
When asked how many players watch Barbarise’s show, the captains hilariously declined to comment.
“I swear we’ll get to it,” Blount said.
Made for this
While the first season may be a building year, Songveeratham is confident that Long Island’s explosive high school flag football landscape will certainly pad out the roster moving forward.
“We had about 26 seniors on the team,” she said of her senior year at Valley Stream.
“It’s so impressive how the programs have been growing so much over the Island. … I want to see how much this can go, and I can’t wait.”
Barbarise added that the local hotbed is making his job easier as well.
“A lot of them have reached out,” he said. “I’ve got a road map to recruits.”
But the Sharks — one of the loudest teams at the Jets media day — don’t plan on waiting to show the flag football world what they’re made of come game one vs. Mercy on St. Patrick’s Day.
“I know my team, I know we can do it,” said Blount. “Watch out for the new kids on the block.”
