Clarkson initially founded "Air 7", a quarterback academy, that offers tutoring to players in high school and younger. Clarkson has since coached more than 200 Division I-A quarterback starters. Including other positions, Air 7 has produced about 80 I-A starters. Clarkson's quarterback academy is now called Steve Clarkson Dreammaker. Initially offering quarterback training to youth, high school and college players, Clarkson soon began to train professional players as well. Clarkson has since been described by ESPN as "the most powerful QB coach in football." Clarkson organizes various football camps and programs, such as the Super 7 program held in different cities. His training has been noted for involving significant classroom sessions in addition to on-field training.
Controversy
Clarkson was featured in a CBS "60 Minutes" segment by Morley Safer. The segment aired on a December 22, 2013 episode. During the segment, Safer featured the potential moral implications of creating a business such as Clarkson's "Dreammaker" quarterback camps. Those implications included the question of whether children as young as seven should be intensively training to become college quarterbacks and whether the parents of young children should be investing large sums of money in Clarkson's tutelage. In the segment, Clarkson admitted he did not want his own 10-year-old son to play football. While many of Clarkson's successful former students were featured, none of Clarkson's unsuccessful students were interviewed or even mentioned. Mike Forcier, the father of a former student Tate Forcier, alleged that Clarkson "was more into promoting than coaching... It's like a big cattle call. That's what it is. It's all about promoting his guys and himself." Clarkson at one point had fifty kids in private group training that cost $7,400 a year, although add-ons often took the tabs into five figures. He also works with more than 200 other players through camps and semi-private clinics. Clarkson will do a full 12-hour session over two days for an out-of-state QB that costs $3,000 plus expenses. Clarkson is also self-styled as a recruiting middle man. Forbes Magazine quoted Clarkson as saying "Kids are on the cusp of getting scholarships before high school and it is all because of the Sills story, I guess I'm the person who started this whole madness."
Notable trainees
Clarkson has developed quarterbacks including Heisman Trophy-winner Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley. Other clients include Jimmy Clausen, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Cassel. A protégé of Clarkson's, David Sills, verbally committed to USC at the age of 13. Another student, Tate Martell, verbally committed to the University of Washington at age 14. Clarkson also currently works with the following talent at the collegiate level, Max Wittek at the University of Hawaii, and Wilton Speight, University of Michigan.
