Approach and Landing Sequence
A student pilot reported that during landing attempts at an unfamiliar airport, the first two approaches were too short. On the third approach, the pilot observed being too high and decided to steepen the glide path toward the runway numbers. This action caused the aircraft to gain excessive speed. With the sun glaring directly into the pilot's eyes, the airplane touched down hard, bounced, then touched down hard a second time and bounded again.
Structural Damage and Runway Excursion
Following a third hard touchdown, the nose gear collapsed. The propeller blade tips subsequently struck the runway surface. The airplane then veered off the runway, impacted an approach light, and slid down an embankment before coming to rest against two trees.