SAPD officer looks to become Highland Games world champion in Germany

SAN ANTONIO – To serve and protect the Alamo City is a daily duty for the San Antonio Police Department.

But at night, one patrol officer also dreams of becoming a world champion.

Jason Spraggins has spent the last three years competing in the Highland Games, attending roughly 20 games each year in cities across the nation.

Spraggins, an Iraq war veteran, said he joined SAPD in 2008 after serving in the Army for eight years.

Shortly after joining the police department, he first fell in love with the games when a fellow SAPD officer introduced him to the event in San Antonio several years ago.

Spraggins said he was hooked, partly because the game paid homage to his Scottish-German background.

In September, Spraggins will clash with the toughest Highland Games competitors thousands of miles away from the Alamo City, traveling overseas to compete in the 18th annual Highland Games Masters World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany.

“There’s going to be some big guys there,” Spraggins told KSAT.com. “I will be the smallest guy again.”

Some of the events Spraggins will compete in include the caber toss -- a long log tossed in the air -- a Scottish hammer throw and sheaf toss -- a 20-pound bundle of straw tossed vertically over a bar.

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Since picking up the sport, Spraggins has worked his way up to being ranked fifth in North America and ninth in the world.

“You can be ranked whatever but if you don’t perform on the day, it doesn’t matter. You can get smoked by anyone,” Spraggins said.

Spraggins, 40, said he sees the games as a way not only keep a competitive edge but also to help stay motivated beyond the badge.

“There’s guys that are amazing. There (are competitors) 65 (to) 80 (years old) that still do it. I want to have competition in my life and be an example for my kids to have a goal everyday,” he said.

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