NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England — Fabulous Flournoy, the most celebrated figure in the history of the British Basketball League, wants to learn how to swim. Bear with him: He wants to learn how to swim so he can learn how to surf so he can improve his core stability and play basketball forever.

Flournoy, the 44-year-old player-coach of the Newcastle Eagles, had his second lesson on a recent afternoon. He wore goggles and a small flotation belt as he splashed around and listened to his instructor. Flournoy never learned how to swim when he was growing up in the South Bronx. But he is committed to warding off the march of middle age.

“When I want to do something, I do it now,” he said. “I don’t wait.”

Flournoy, deep into his 22nd season in the B.B.L., cannot stop. He cannot stop playing for the Eagles, who have employed him as a defense-minded wing since 2001. He cannot stop coaching them, either, a job he reluctantly agreed to take on the following season. But he sees no reason to slow down, not after reinventing his shooting stroke and reshaping his diet — even if he is one of the oldest pros in the world.

“In his mind, age doesn’t apply,” said Claire Forrester, whose husband, David, is Flournoy’s assistant coach. “It does to other people, to mere mortals, but not to him.”