Yips is a noun that refers to nervousness affecting an athlete before a big play or game. 

Nobody knows the origin of our word of the day, but we know it’s been used in the sports world since the 1930s. Here’s an example of yips in use:

Those missed free throws I made at the end of the game were clearly an example of the yips. With the game on the line and two seconds left on the clock, I simply panicked. But the other ten free throws I missed for the rest of the game, that was just poor effort.