GREENFIELD — Nearly 10 years ago, Travis Roy was a gifted freshman hockey player at Boston University when he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. The personal tragedy occurred only 11 seconds into his first game, in October 1995.

Since then, the Yarmouth, Maine, native has learned how to make the best of his situation, establishing the Travis Roy Foundation and a career as a motivational speaker.

Roy will make his first visit to Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center at 3:15 p.m. Monday to speak about overcoming hurdles to achieve success.

Roy said yesterday that anniversaries are time markers, but he uses other markers, as well, such as having worn out two wheelchairs in a decade. He recently started using his third chair.

Despite his achievements, there have been frustrations.

"I had hoped that a cure would allow me to get down and play with my old dog, who was 7 when I got injured, but he recently died," Roy said.

The good things are the degree in public relations he earned from BU and the publishing in 1998 of his autobiography, "Eleven Seconds," which he recently updated.

Now an advocate for spinal cord research, Roy has testified before Congress and devotes time to his foundation, chiefly focusing on finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. The foundation also awards grants to individuals for adaptive equipment.

He supports stem cell research and commended Senate Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., for taking a stand backing such research in opposition to many in his party.

Roy can count his blessings, specifically the NCAA catastrophic insurance policy, which has helped him deal with some of the physical hurdles; a strong network of family and friends; and his foundation, which has given out well over $1 million so far.

The foundation Web site — www.travisroyfoundation.org — provides advice for people with spinal injuries, but he said he listened to no such advice when he was first hurt.

"I'm just a stubborn athlete, and I didn't want to hear from anybody.

"Now I just try to live as independent a life as I can, and I just go out there and compete," Roy said. "You have to be active, or you're not going to make it."

He supports himself with his speaking engagements, which find him addressing groups as varied as school students and corporate groups.

"I stress the need to establish core values, and I apply it to my story," Roy said. "I'm just a hard-working, blue-collar guy, and I don't like to lose."