From a Phantom Regiment press release: Adam Sage, who was hired this week as Phantom Regiment's color guard designer and caption head, has been instrumental in the success of several outstanding color guards in his career. Most recently, he was in charge of Santa Clara Vanguard's color guard. Prior to that, he spent seven years with the Cavaliers, two years with the Crossmen and two years with Magic of Orlando. He's looking forward to being a part of a nearly 50-year tradition at Phantom Regiment. "I have always admired the Phantom Regiment for its strength, class and aura created on the field," the fourth-grade teacher in Kennesaw, Ga., said in an interview. "I hope to be able to contribute a strong level of sophistication, style and integrity to the team, all of which describe the elements of the Phantom Regiment. "It is my goal to continue those standards set with the color guard's history, dating many years back and move forward with an incredibly talented staff. This is an exciting direction for all of us." Dan Farrell, Phantom Regiment's program coordinator and a long-time staffer, sees the addition of Sage to the design and instructional team as a key component in continuing the corps' success. "Having Adam join the team is very exciting for us," he said. "The wealth of experience and the quality of his past work speaks for itself. I'm sure people will be very pleased with the 2005 Regiment guard and what it will contribute to the overall look and feel of the corps." Sage, 34, isn't venturing into the unknown in Rockford, Ill., where there is tremendous pride in a corps that has been a DCI finalist 31 straight years. He still recalls more than 15 years later competing against Phantom Regiment when he marched with Suncoast Sound in 1988. "I certainly remember being amazed when I first saw the Regiment guard in 1988 at my first drum corps show in Charlotte. I was so fascinated that I was watching the Regiment guard, but my instructor seemed to be a bit unhappy that I was doing so during my own warmup with Suncoast Sound. Being a rookie is not always the easiest, but I learned what to do and what not to do. "The end of that season was really magical, too, as our color guard was second to Phantom Regiment, who won the guard caption at DCI." After two years with Suncoast Sound, Sage marched two seasons with Cadets of Bergen County as well as two seasons with the Emerald Marquis winter guard. Then his teaching and designing career took off. He has worked with numerous high school color guards in Florida, including Tarpon Springs, East Lake, Seminole (1993 WGI A Class bronze medalist) and Clearwater. He also has worked with Pope in Marietta, Ga. Pope was the 2000 WGI Open Class silver medalist and the 2002 WGI World Class bronze medalist. Sage also is actively involved with Winter Guard International (WGI). He was the director of The Company Colour Guard from 1995 to 1999. The Company was a two-time WGI World Champion in A Class (1995) and Open Class (1996). Currently, he teaches Kell (Marietta, Ga.), Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw, Ga.), University of Central Florida Winter Guard, Miamisburg (Ohio) High School Winter Guard and Southern Knights Winter Guard (Brighton, England). In addition, he is an adjudicator in the Southeast, as well as for ISSMA in Indiana. When he is not teaching color guard, Sage is an elementary teacher in
Kennesaw, Ga., where he resides. He admits to finding a bit of spare time to do things away from color guard. "I am a fan of fine dining and great wine," he said. "I love to travel -- other than on a bus -- and enjoy the outdoors. Finding the time to read a good book is always a plus for me. I also love teaching my fourth-grade students, as they certainly keep me on my toes."