In this reported speech item, convert the exclamatory praise "The coach said, 'Well done! You have made me proud.'" into the correct Indirect Speech form.

Introduction / Context:
This question is about reporting an exclamation of praise that contains the present perfect tense. The direct sentence is: The coach said, "Well done! You have made me proud." In indirect speech, we need to keep the sense of praise and correctly backshift the present perfect have made to past perfect had made, while adjusting pronouns to fit the reported context.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Speaker: the coach. - Exclamatory part: Well done! - Statement part: You have made me proud. - Reporting verb: said, in the past tense. - The pronoun you refers to the player or person being praised.

Concept / Approach:
When changing such sentences into reported speech, we usually convert the exclamation into a verb of praising like applauded or congratulated. The present perfect have made becomes had made after a past reporting verb. The pronoun you is reported as he or she depending on the context; in the options, he is used. The pronoun me, which refers to the coach, becomes him. The phrase well done is represented by the verb applauded in the correct option, which captures the idea of praise in narrative form.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, imagine going back to direct speech. From The coach applauded and said that he had made him proud, we change he had made him proud to You have made me proud and reintroduce the exclamation of praise: Well done. This yields: The coach said, "Well done! You have made me proud." The match shows that the indirect version keeps the original sense and tense relationships.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A uses has made instead of had made, failing to backshift the present perfect. Option B mixes present and past in an unnatural way with applauds and says and had made. Option C is confused in structure, mixing applauded, says and has made. Option E uses made in simple past, which does not fully reflect the relationship of completed action before the reporting; the exam standard expects had made. Option D correctly uses applauded to express praise and had made to show the completed action, with the pronouns adjusted appropriately, so it is the best answer.

Common Pitfalls:
Many learners are unsure how to report exclamations like well done or congratulations and either omit them or leave them in quotation marks. Another common mistake is forgetting that present perfect usually changes to past perfect after a past reporting verb. Pronoun adjustments can also be tricky because there are two persons involved: the coach and the player. Make sure to represent the praise with a suitable reporting verb and to adjust all pronouns and tenses carefully.

Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech sentence is The coach applauded and said that he had made him proud.