Watertown orthopedic surgeon looks after U.S. ski team

When U.S. skiers dash down a hill speeding toward that gold medal, there is a group of guardian angels watching over on the sidelines at all times. Dr. D. Peter Van Eenenaam, a member of the U.S. Ski Team physician corps., is one of them.

"I'm part of the team and the staff. So we eat together, I participate in team meetings, training sessions; I'm there during the course inspections and at the games. I'm with the players all the time," said Dr. Van Eenenaam, orthopedic surgeon and director of the Sports Medicine Center at North Country Orthopedic Group, Watertown.

Dr. Van Eenenaam, a Watertown native and a 1979 graduate of Watertown High School, did not participate in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics but cheered for the U.S. ski team as a fan and watched his favorite athlete, alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, win gold and bronze medals.

"They did great this year. I've always been a big fan of Lindsey. I've known Lindsey before she was Vonn, when she was still Kildow," he said, adding that his two children, David and Sarah are also fans of the first American woman to win a gold in downhill.

He said he was also very happy for Julia Mancuso, a 2006 Winter Olympics gold medalist, for winning two silver medals in both downhill and combined.

Dr. Van Eenenaam, a former ski racer, said he spends a lot of time skiing himself.

"I basically cross-country ski almost every day, about five days a week," he said.

Dr. Van Eenenaam said he has assisted the ski team in Olympic games and World Cup events since 1996 and that he enjoys traveling around the world with the nation's best skiers.

Dr. Van Eenenaam, a graduate of the Harvard Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program, received orthopedic training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and advanced sports medicine training at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo.