Can I take decent pictures facing the sun with a nikon d3000?

I'm trying to take sports pictures. But because of the time of day, the sun is facing me and behind the players… So any tips?

Use spot metering and set your exposure based on the players, not the entire frame. Then shoot in manual mode based on that exposure level.

I'm surprised you didn't learn about this in the basic photography class that I'm sure you took to learn how to use a DSLR camera properly…