Globe-trotting the world’s waves

Dave Cadigan is not your typical surfer.

A former offensive lineman in the NFL, Cadigan does not fit the

small- to medium-build prototype of most surfers.

But when dealing with large waves, a 6-foot-5, 275-pound frame

might not be all that bad.

In dealing with surf boards, though, it can become pretty costly.

Luckily for Cadigan, now 40, he took care of his NFL money, and

along with his income from his real estate ventures, he lives a

pretty comfortable life.

He has two main passions, if you haven’t guessed already, one of

which involves getting pummeled by massive waves, and the other of

which involves getting punished by massive men.

The latter, however, is in his past, but that doesn’t stop him

from passing on his wisdom to youngsters through coaching.

Cadigan has been all over the United States, playing for the New

York Jets from 1988-1993 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1994.

He has been all over the world surfing.

His local connection is Newport Harbor High, where he played

football in the early 1980s, and his global connection is Indonesia,

where he takes an annual surfing trip to battle 15-foot plus waves.

“My love, my hobby has always been surfing,” he said. “I’ve been

doing it since I was a young teenager. Since I’ve been retired I’ve

been taking lots of trips.”

Through his football days, surfing was always a side thought,

something he almost had to do in secrecy. When he played for Newport

Harbor, he and a buddy would sneak down to Encinitas to catch waves,

while in the NFL, he wasn’t even allowed to partake in the sport due

to a clause written in his contract.

But that didn’t stop him from paddling out when the season was

over -- before going back into training camp, he said.

Now, it’s no surprise he lives in Encinitas, right near the water.

“We would sneak down here [in high school] because we knew there

wasn’t a lot of surfers in the north county of San Diego, and the

surf was pretty good,” Cadigan said. “I knew if I ever made it in

football I’d like to move down here because the people are really

cool.”

Cadigan was an offensive lineman at Newport Harbor under coach

Mike Giddings before going on to play at USC. He was picked eighth

overall by the Jets in the 1988 NFL draft, the same draft that

included Sterling Sharpe, Tim Brown and Michael Irvin, all of whom

went on to become star receivers.

He suffered a couple of injuries before playing for the Bengals in

the 1994 season, starting all 15 games. But after receiving several

concussions, he decided to call it quits. Cincinnati was his last

stop in the NFL.

“He’s a very committed young man,” his father Pat Cadigan said.

“He really had a commitment to make his mother and I proud of him. At

first I didn’t recognize he had all these talents, but by his junior

year [in high school] I could see things happening -- he was starting

to pull it all together.”

During Cadigan’s high school years, his mother, Barbara, was

getting increasingly sick with breast cancer. One of the reasons he

decided to attend USC was the location, so he could be close to his

mother who was in and out of UCLA Medical Center.

Cadigan was recruited by more than 100 schools nationwide, his

father said, while Texas and Southern Methodist University wanted

badly to sign him.

But USC was close to his ailed mother.

Barbara Cadigan died in August 1986 after a 13-year bought with

cancer. Dave Cadigan was at USC at the time.

“All during David’s career there was this sword above him,” Pat

Cadigan said. “He knew it was coming. That’s one of the reasons he

went to USC.”

The football star continued on with his life, going pro and

eventually retiring.

Meanwhile, his passion for surfing was in his thoughts.

“I wanted to do some other things in my life,” Dave Cadigan said.

“It’s God’s territory out there, so beautiful and so raw. I wanted to

challenge myself in other areas.”

He dabbled in coaching, volunteering his time as an offensive line

coach at La Costa Canyon High in San Diego and later went on to help

at San Diego State.

Now, he has the perfect balance between coaching, career and

surfing.

Along with coaching youth football, he currently buys houses,

fixes them up and sells them for a profit, leaving him the time he

needs to hit the water.

“I’m one of the biggest good surfers in the world,” he said,

referring to his stature.

In September, Cadigan will be taking his third trip to Indonesia

to surf. He travels with former surfing pros from the 1970s and ‘80s.

“I’m the only one that doesn’t have a [professional] surf

background,” he said. “I’m the odd man out, but they’ve taken me

under their wing.”

Cadigan said he’s been surfing in Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica,

among other places. But he has yet to make it to Fiji, a top spot on

his priority list.

He said it’s tough to choose a favorite between football and

surfing. He recalls many fond times in the NFL and at USC.

“The biggest games would be Monday night games,” he said of his

tenure in the NFL. “But there were two games in particular that stand

out. When we beat the [Miami] Dolphins to make the playoffs, that was

big. And in college, we beat UCLA and Troy Aikman to reach the Rose

Bowl.

“What I remember more than anything was the camaraderie, having a

good time with my buddies in the locker room, or on the plane.

Laughing in the showers, just goofing around. It was a tight group.”

But surfing ranks right up there, he said.

“Football was something I really enjoyed and excelled at,” he

said. “But if I had a choice for something to do all day long, it

would be surfing. It’s something I really enjoy with close friends,

it’s relaxing, as opposed to football -- it’s such a violent sport,

it’s a different cat all together.”