Whilst, one of his protegies Conor Thomas has joined Liverpool with a view to a permanent move, other City U18's players have also been sent out to gain experience in the football world.
Cyrus Christie is at Nuneaton, Conor Gudger is at Hinckley United and Luke Adams is at Halesowen Town.
Speaking to City's matchday programme, Rioch said: "The philosophy behind sending these players out is that it gives them the experience of men's football, competitive football, winning football.
"It means our Academy side will be very young for the remainder of the season, but I think rather than keeping these players here playing youth football, it has to be better for them to go out and get that senior experience.
"We can see the benefits it has brought in, in the past to players such as Nathan Cameron and I'm hoping the youngsters who go out can gain a little bit of experience and maturity that Nathan picked up during his loan spell last season.
"Conor Gudger made his debut for Hinckley United in front of 1500 fans while our game at Birmingham City was called off and that sort of experience is invaluable."